


You're The Comeback Kid

by capeofstorm



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Anal Sex, Angst, Bisexual Male Character, Blow Jobs, F/M, Fluff, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Homophobia, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-12
Updated: 2012-12-12
Packaged: 2017-11-20 21:15:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 45,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/589710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capeofstorm/pseuds/capeofstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek Hale doesn't do friends, not after the fire that claimed his entire family and landed him in foster care. He just wants to graduate and get on with his life. But Laura always said he was a bleeding heart and that's how he ends up with Erica Reyes as his best friend after he helps her through a seizure one day.</p><p>Erica's not content with being the loser epileptic anymore, not now that she's Derek's friend. She intends to become the uncrowned queen of the school because running things from behind the scenes is always fun.</p><p>Add in Stiles Stilinski, the guy Derek can't help but notice and help with some bully trouble.</p><p>And how the hell did Erica talk him into taking Isaac Lahey under his wing?</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're The Comeback Kid

**Author's Note:**

> First and foremost, I wanted to say thank you to [bookgodess15](http://archiveofourown.org/users/bookgodes15) for agreeing to beta and Ameripick for me. This fic wouldn't be even half as good without her minute attention to detail, helpful comments and lessons about n and m dashes. You're a star, darling! All remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> So, about the timeline: Derek is 17/18 in this story with Stiles, Isaac and Erica being 17 (well, Stiles turns 17 in October in my personal headcanon).
> 
> The Camaro that Derek drives in the show is a 2010 Camaro so obviously the story is set sometime in the future but I'm not exactly specifying.
> 
> Title from Sleigh Bells' "Comeback Kid".

The kid was pretty pathetic. Whittemore had him pinned by his shoulders, their faces inches apart as Whittemore jeered at him, made the kid go red as tomato and then pale as a ghost. Derek watched from a distance, wondering idly what he’d said to make the kid react like that. Whittemore’s posse laughed loudly, the sound carrying through the school corridor. The kid looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him.

He was tall but gangly, his hair shaved short, his eyes huge in his pasty face. He screamed target.

With a sigh Derek pushed away from the wall he stood by and moved towards them. Laura had always said he was too soft for his own good.

“Bored, Whittemore?”

Whittemore turned to look at him, stepping away from the kid. He ran his hands down the kid’s body, making him shudder, much to the amusement of his cronies. He turned his head sideways as he took Derek in.

“And you are?”

Derek smiled at that, a toothy smile that made Whittemore’s posse shut up. Whittemore was new and he didn’t know of Derek – yet. But his friends were smarter than that. One of them — Greenberg, he thought — put his hand on Whittemore’s arm and tugged him away.

“C’mon, Jackson, I’m starving.”

Whittemore looked at Greenberg, and whatever he saw there made him nod. He gave Derek one last haughty look before he turned away and banged his hand on the locker besides the kid’s head as he stalked away.

The kid watched them walk away before he turned to Derek, licking his lips. He had plush, pink lips, Derek noticed out of the blue. The kind of lips that would look amazing wrapped around his cock.

“Thanks for that.”

“You’re pathetic.”

The kid shrugged at that, his eyes wide and bright.

“I know.”

Derek grunted and turned to walk away.

“I’m Stiles. Stiles Stilinski. And I uh, I owe you.”

Derek looked at him from the side of his eye.

“Yeah, you do.”

“Not gonna give me your name?”

Derek didn’t reply, walking away instead. He imagined what Laura would have said if she’d seen him now. She’d tease him for being the knight in shining armor to the kid’s — Stiles’ — damsel in distress. She wouldn’t have let him live it down, annoying him as she’d punch his arm with that proud look in her eyes.

Derek closed his eyes as a wave of yearning hit him. He missed Laura so damn much. 

*

Derek had been fourteen when his whole family died in a fire. He had been the only one who was left alive because he was in a detention that day; he had been late to class and his math teacher decided to have him stay after school. It had been the only reason Derek didn’t burn to death with the rest of his family at the hands of Kate Argent.

Kate Argent who, it turned out, has had an illicit affair with his uncle Peter. It all came out after the fire, during the investigation. The affair was long and passionate, his uncle had promised Kate he would leave his wife for her. Apparently she got fed up with waiting and when she confronted him, Peter broke up with her. Three days later Kate had barricaded the house and poured gasoline over it, striking the match and signing his family’s death warrant.

Kate had been arrested and sentenced to life in prison. The Argent family packed and left the town before Kate was even processed. Kate committed suicide after three months in prison.

And Derek had been put into foster care. He didn’t mind it, not really. He knew he was lucky, really. His foster parents didn’t bother him and he, in turn, didn’t bother them. They let him do whatever he wanted and didn’t care, as long as they got the maintenance check every month. They gave Derek a quarter of the sum as gas money. And that was why Derek didn’t mind living with them — they let him keep Laura’s Camaro in the garage until he turned sixteen and passed his licence. That car was all that he had left of his family. That and the inheritance he’d receive when he turned eighteen.

*

Derek usually sat alone at lunch. It had been like that ever since he’d entered high school. He didn’t have friends, not since the fire. He’d had some... issues with his anger afterwards and somehow people had learned that he attended anger management classes. It wasn't as if he needed those classes. Any sane person would have lashed out just as he did after their whole family died. But somehow the police decided that Derek vandalising the Argents' car was too much of a reaction. After that the discovery of his anger management classes, he was left alone, looked at as if he was going to beat someone up the second they looked at him. It suited him just fine, as it meant he could go about his business without a bother. 

Laura used to tell him it was due to his scowl, while Jeremy, his older brother, had always said it was because his eyebrows made him look like a serial killer.

Either way, he was alone.

He occupied a table in the corner, between a wall and windows, a place where he could keep an eye on everything as he ate his lunch. He watched Stiles – Stilinski – as he ate. The kid sat at the end of a table occupied by band geeks , his head buried in a huge book. Derek squinted, trying to make out the title but he was too far.

A sudden shout made him turn towards the sound. Someone jumped up on the chair and screamed as a young, blonde girl thrashed on the floor, clearly having a seizure. Derek cursed and got up from his chair, seeing that no one was rushing to help her. He kneeled by her, put his arms under her head and knees and hoisted her up in his arms, looking for a teacher. Her lips were turning blue and he had no idea what to do.

Harris, the chemistry teacher moved quickly towards him.

“What’s going on?!”

Derek growled.

“She’s seizing, what does it look like?” The _you idiot_ was left unsaid.

“Erica’s epileptic,” Stiles piped up from the side. “You should get her to the nurse.”

Derek nodded at that and moved out of the cafeteria, leaving the staring students behind. He barrelled into the nurse’s office, startling the woman. She looked up at him and sighed.

“Put her on the bed, on her side, she should stop seizing soon.”

Derek deposited the girl on the bed, turning her on her side as her body stopped seizing. His mouth pressed tightly, a frown on his brow. He didn’t know this girl, didn’t remember seeing her. Stiles obviously knew her so she must have been in his classes, a year below Derek himself. He let his eyes run over her body, making sure she didn’t injure herself. He noticed a dark stain on her jeans and wrinkled his nose; she had peed on herself. Derek looked around and grabbed a blanket, covering her lower half.

She was breathing heavily, her eyes fluttering open. She looked around herself, dazed and confused. Derek leaned back, making sure she saw him clearly.

“You had a seizure. You’re in the nurse’s office now.”

The girl – Erica, Stiles had said her name was Erica – blinked a few times. 

“You’re Derek Hale.”

“Yes.”

“You – you carried me here?”

Derek nodded. Erica closed her eyes, her face scrunching up as if she was in pain.

“Are you in pain?”

Erica let out a shaky laugh that strangely resembled a sob.

“No,” she shook her head.

Derek leaned back, looking to the side, giving Erica a modicum of privacy. They sat in silence and Derek pretended not to notice the tears trickling down Erica’s face. She wiped them away on her sleeve, her hands shaky.

The nurse came by, smiling at Erica.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“Do you want me to call your mother?”

“No! I mean, no, please, don’t. There’s no need for that,” Erica pleaded.

“You haven’t had a seizure in a while, sweetie.”

“I’m fine. I’m just sleepy.”

The nurse nodded and turned to Derek.

“You can go now,” the nurse suggested.

He got up from his seat, ready to leave, when Erica caught the sleeve of his leather jacket. He looked at her questioningly.

“Thanks.”

He nodded, quickly squeezing her hand, surprising the both of them.

“Don’t mention it.”

With that, he left.

*

The next morning, Derek was lounging by the bleachers, cigarette in his hand when Erica found him. Derek observed as she made her way to him slowly, hesitatingly. She squared her shoulders, held her head up high up and walked up over to him. But she still couldn't meet his eye.

"Thank you."

"I said not to mention it."

She put a stray lock of hair behind her ear and gazed up at him from beneath her lashes.

"Yeah, well. Not many people would do that."

Derek took a drag of his cigarette, not knowing what to say.

"They mostly laugh and point. Some take pictures or videos and upload them online. Something to laugh about."

He crushed the cigarette with his shoe, coming up to her. His fingers underneath her chin, he made her look straight at him.

"Who?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who posted videos online?"

Erica shrugged, her eyes looking to the side. She licked her lips and darted forward quickly, kissing him square on the mouth. Derek stiffened in surprise before pressing his lips against hers, letting her run her tongue against his, her teeth nibbling on his bottom lip, her hand in his hair. He closed his eyes, his hands cupping her face, gentling the kiss. He placed a few close mouthed kisses on the edges of her lips before pulling away, stepping back.

Erica's mouth was red, her eyes wide, looking at him in wonder. She was so pretty, Derek thought with a pang. So pretty and she obviously wanted this but he couldn't – she wasn't – this wasn't going to happen between them. 

"Never do that again, Erica."

"Why? Because I'm the loser epileptic girl?"

He squeezed her shoulders tightly.

"No. Because I'm not in the habit of kissing my friends."

He looked at her, wanting her to understand what he meant. Her face fell a little before her hands came up to squeeze his wrists on either side of her shoulders and she gave him an impish grin.

"Okay. Sorry."

"Don't mention it."

She laughed at that and stepped away. Derek nodded towards the school, starting to walk, Erica catching up.

"You didn't answer my question."

She took in a shuddering breath, her face set in a grimace.

"I don't know."

Derek nodded at that. He would find out, somehow.

"See you at lunch?"

"Sure."

With a little wave, Erica left Derek by his locker. He looked to the side, his eyes instantly finding Stiles who stood by his locker, books grasped tightly in his hands. He was looking at Derek with a grim expression before tearing his eyes away when he noticed Derek caught him watching. 

What was all that about?

*

And just like that, Erica Reyes insinuated herself in Derek's life. She would be there in the mornings, waving at him as she made her way to the school. She would sit with him at lunch, sometimes chatting, sometimes just eating, and sometimes sitting there with frustrated scowl on her face until Derek managed to get her to tell him what was wrong. At the end of the day she hung around his locker, her books held in the crook of her arm, waiting for him to give her a lift home. 

She got under his skin faster than he anticipated.

All the while, Stiles — Derek gave up calling him Stilinski in his head — kept looking at him and Erica as if they killed his puppy. Derek really didn't know what that was about.

It had been two months and was now middle of October when Erica caught him looking at Stiles, and her eyebrow raised. Derek averted his eyes quickly, a scowl on his face, but Erica looked like she was trying to solve a puzzle. 

"Do you need a ride after school?"

"Nah," she shook her head, picking at her pizza slice. "My mom's taking me shopping after school. A bonding experience, she calls it. Which means she's going to try to get me to wear preppy clothes a la Lydia Martin all the while bemoaning the fact that I'm not the daughter she wants."

"Sounds fun."

"Oh yeah, it's fantastic," Erica rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. 

"Still, you get to hang out with your mom."

Erica looked up at him, her expression suddenly changing into that of horror.

"Oh god, Derek, I'm so sorry—"

"Don't. Just — just try and have fun, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Derek nodded at her, got up and left the cafeteria without another look at Stiles.

*

Erica left the school as soon as she could, without saying goodbye to Derek. She felt shitty for complaining about having to spend time with her mother when Derek would never have the chance to do that again. She could have kicked herself for her thoughtlessness.

She got in her mother's car, her lip caught between her teeth, her mind made up.

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Can we get me some new clothes?"

Mrs. Reyes looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Of course, that's why we're going to the mall."

"No, I mean. I want to change my style."

Her mother's eyes lit up at her words. She turned the car on, navigating the busy parking lot with ease. Erica threw her book bag in the backseat, situating herself more comfortably in the seat.

"Definitely! You have a great coloring, honey, and you have amazing legs. Maybe something more bohemian? Delicate, flowery with lots of prints?"

"I was thinking something along the lines of, uh, well – "

"Yes?"

"Short, skimpy and clingy."

Her mother looked to her, eyebrows raised.

"Why?"

Erica shrugged, blush staining her cheeks. She picked at her thumb, her eyes on the dashboard.

"It's more me, you know? I'm not going to be Lydia, mom. I might as well go for something that will make _me_ feel good. Confident."

"Nothing too skimpy, now, you know how your father would react to that."

"I promise you can veto my choices. Just – let me do this myself?"

Her mother reached out, patting her hand, a satisfied smile on her lips.

"Alright."

They had picked out a few skirts, two pairs of jeans and a few tops when Erica found what she had been looking for since she’d entered the mall.

A black leather jacket.

Erica’s mother looked at her with a small smile, following in her trail, bags with clothes clutched in her hands.

“Is there a boy...?”

Erica ran her hands over the leather jacket, taking it off the hanger and putting it on. She looked in the mirror, admiring it. It was just what she had been looking for.

“Yeah but it’s not like that.”

“Oh?”

She looked at her mother who was... smiling. She was finally doing all those mother-daughter things she always wanted to do. Erica felt a pang in her heart and pulled the jacket closer around herself.

“He’s interested in someone else. And I’m okay with that.”

“You’re a beautiful girl, Erica – “

“Someone who’s a guy, mom.”

Mrs. Reyes gasped, her mouth open in shock.

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

Erica shrugged and smiled at her mom, patting her hand.

“It’s okay, really. They will be good together once they get their heads out of their asses.”

“Language.”

Erica smirked at that.

“Sorry. They will be good together once they get their heads out of their behinds.”

Mrs. Reyes chuckled, hugging Erica tightly in the middle of the store. Erica brought her arms up, wrapping them around her mother, squeezing tightly.

“Well, we can still make him see what he’s missing. We’re buying the jacket, I take it?”

Erica nodded with a smile, taking the jacket off, folding it over her arm. She tucked her hair behind her ear and squared her shoulders resolutely.

“Yeah. And can we go get my hair cut? And get some makeup?”

Her mother’s radiant smile was one that Erica decided to remember forever.

*

Derek refused to be worried. He hadn't seen Erica in the morning, and she hadn't said goodbye yesterday either. He wasn't sure if she was avoiding him because of their talk at lunch yesterday but if she wasn't going to show up by the end of the day, he was determined to hunt her down and make her tell him what was wrong. He wasn't going to lose his only friend because she didn't think before she spoke.

He rather liked that she forgot about what happened to his family. She didn't associate it with him, and didn't let it be the thing that defined him in her mind. It was refreshing to not having her look at him with pity, to have her comfortable enough with him to run her mouth.

He raised his head from his plate when he heard people halt their conversations. He did a double take at the sight in front of him.

“What the hell happened to you?”

Erica smirked at Derek as she sat down across from him in the cafeteria. She put her lunch tray down and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

“You like?”

Derek looked at her carefully. She had obviously done something with her hair, it was shinier and more... there. She was wearing makeup, her eyes looking huge, her lips painted red. She was wearing a tight fitting shirt, a skirt and _a leather jacket_.

“It’s something else.”

She took an apple and bit into it with a loud crunch.

“I decided it was time I came out of my cocoon.”

Derek barely held in the eye roll. His gaze swept through the cafeteria, noticing many stares aimed in Erica’s direction. He narrowed his eyes at some of the gawkers, making them turn away.

“The public certainly likes it.”

Erica leaned back in her chair, stretching her hands above her head, her shirt riding up her stomach, stretching across her — impressive — breasts. Derek quirked an eyebrow at her.

“I told you it’s not happening.”

Erica snorted over another bite of her apple.

“Oh, I know that. It wasn’t for you, anyway. Well, the leather jacket, yeah.”

Derek shook his head at her and stabbed the mystery meat of the day with a grimace. His eyes drifted to where Stiles sat, his head buried in a huge book as usual during lunch. Erica turned around to look what caught his eye and smirked evilly.

“I fucking knew it!”

Derek narrowed his eyes at her.

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”

“There’s no secret.”

Erica simply hummed, her eyes dancing with humor. This time Derek didn't hold back the eye roll.

"No, seriously, what happened?"

She shrugged, putting her apple on the tray, reaching for her drink.

"I took your advice and enjoyed myself. Besides, if I'm going to hang out with you and save your miserable pariah ass from social exclusion, I need to look the part."

"In case you haven't noticed, we're both socially excluded."

Erica smirked at that, winking at someone over Derek's shoulder.

"Not for much longer. It's your last year here and we're going to run this school by Christmas, mark my words."

"I didn't sign up for that."

"Quit whining, it'll be fun! You can still scare people to death, okay? I know you like that whole brooding thing, with secret pining and stuff."

Derek's grip on his fork tightened.

"I do not _pine_ ," he spat out.

"Uh-huh. Which is why you have been staring at Stiles for the past two months. Don't think I haven't heard about that thing with Jackson, I totally did. I knew you were sweet."

" _Erica_."

She raised her hands in surrender, her eyebrows high, a small smile on her lips.

"Okay, okay, fine, not mentioning it again. Hey, did Harris get you to do that crystal eating thing, too?"

*

Erica left her chemistry class with a smirk on her lips. It was her last class and Derek had promised that they would go to get some froyo afterwards. She had nearly thrown a temper tantrum when she’d learned that he had never tried it. What kind of person lived in California for all their life and never tried froyo? Hermits and Derek Hale, that was who.

She grabbed her bag from her locker, put books in it and turned to wait by Derek’s locker.

“I gotta go see Morell, wait for me by the car?”

She nodded at him with a smile.

“Sure thing. Gimme the keys?”

Derek raised his eyebrow at her, his keys tucked firmly in his leather jacket pocket.

“Dream on.”

Erica stuck her tongue out at him, making his lips quirk up in that not-smile smile of his. She left the building, walked up to Derek’s car and put her bag on the car’s roof. She leaned against it, schooling her face into a bored expression as she looked at her schoolmates leave the school grounds.

Ever since she had become friends with Derek, her life had gotten better. She had found her confidence thanks to him – but her confidence wasn’t dependent on him. As she’d told him before, she felt ready to leave her cocoon and she had. She’d become a fucking stunning butterfly, if she did say so herself. Not to mention her social standing had gone through the roof ever since she’d started hanging out with Derek, who had always been seen as the resident bad boy of the town. She wanted to laugh at that, wanted to laugh at the past her who regarded Derek with fear. The guy might have some issues with anger — no denying that — but once he was someone’s friend he held true. She was never afraid that she would be the object of his anger. That was not who Derek was, she’d learned quickly. He tended to internalise everything, including his anger and would rather hurt himself than those he considered his friends. She had tagged along to a few of his kickboxing training sessions, blown away by the control and ferocity behind his fighting. She knew Derek knew how to channel his aggression and he did just that, every day, every moment, keeping a lid on his anger, waiting until he could use it to fuel his training.

Of course, her new social standing wasn’t something that everyone appreciated. Lydia Martin had made more than a few catty comments about her but Erica didn’t let it phase her. She and Lydia were in two totally different leagues and she planned on owning hers.

Johnny Simmons was one of those people who didn’t appreciate Erica’s new social standing. He was in two of her classes and loved making fun of her seizures. He was quite vocal about the fact that he was one of those people who taped her and put her on YouTube – so okay, she lied that day to Derek, sue her.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Smerica.”

Erica stiffened at the nickname. She knew it was just that, a hateful nickname given to her by her classmates but it always made her want to shrink in shame.

“Pissed yourself lately?”

“Why don’t you fuck off, Simmons?”

“Aw, didn’t you miss me? I haven’t seen you around since you started boning Hale. What are you too good for us ordinary folk now that you’re Hale’s slut?”

Erica plastered a smirk on her lips, felt it stretch her mouth grotesquely. Where the hell was Derek when she needed him?

“Sounds to me like you’re jealous, Johnny. Do you have a crush on me? Or wait, do you have a crush on _Derek_?” She asked with a laugh.

Simmons blushed violently, coming up closer to her.

“Shut up, you bitch!”

“That’s it, isn’t it? You have a crush on Derek? Aw, sweetie, sorry to say he has his eye on someone else. Someone much, much better than you.”

She didn’t see the punch coming.

She should have seen it. It was Simmons, after all. 

She clutched her mouth in shock, tasting her own blood. She knew that flavour well from her seizures, but she never tasted it before like this. She looked up at Simmons who stood above her, his hand raised to strike her again. Before she had the chance to do anything, she was jerked backwards, stumbling into someone. She turned her head to see Stiles glare at Simmons.

“If you touch her again—“

“You’ll what, Stilinski? Talk me to death, you fag?”

“No,” Stiles said easily, his arms around Erica, his head nodding at someone behind Simmons. “But he’ll beat the living crap out of you.”

Simmons just barely turned around before Derek was on him. He punched Simmons, his fist landing on Simmons’ nose with a loud crunch, making him crumple to the ground. Derek didn’t falter, going down to straddle Simmons, one of his hands grasping his shirt, the other pulling back for another punch. Simmon’s head lolled with each punch, his face becoming a bloody mess, groans of pain falling from his split lip.

“Derek, Derek, stop! Stop, please, stop before someone sees, Derek, c’mon,” Stiles pleaded, his grip on Erica’s shoulder tightening.

Derek looked up, his expression pure fury.

“Are you okay?”

Erica nodded at that, licking her still bleeding lip. She felt Stiles let go of her, and turn to search through his backpack for tissues. Derek stood up, shook his bloody hand with a sneer at Simmons, who curled up in fetal position by the car.

“If you so much as look at her or Stiles again, I will kill you. Do you understand?”

Simmons whimpered, not looking at Derek. Derek kicked him in the stomach, then crouched so that they were on eye level. He grabbed Simmons’ hair, making him look up.

“I said, do you understand?”

“Yeah.”

Derek let go of Simmons and got up. He walked to Erica, took her jaw in his hand, turning her to the side to look.

“I’ve had worse during my seizures,” she said quietly.

“Not the point.”

She tried to smile at him but her lip stung too much. Derek let go of her chin, his eyes moving to rest on Stiles. She took the tissue Stiles offered her and pressed it to her mouth, wiping the blood away.

None of them paid any attention to Simmons who got up and left. Stiles smiled awkwardly, his hand scratching at the back of his head as he stared at the ground.

“Right, I better go. Hope you feel better, Erica.”

Erica’s eyes darted between Stiles and Derek and she made a snap second decision.

“We’re going to get froyo, you should come with us.”

Derek stiffened at her words but she shut him up with a look.

“Froyo is cold. I need something cold for my lip. Besides, you promised me.”

Derek turned to open the car, his face blank. Erica grabbed Stiles’ sleeve, tugging on it insistently.

“C’mon, you totally saved me. It’ll be your reward for saving the day.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, hitching his backpack over his shoulder nervously.

“You don’t strike me as someone who needs saving, Erica. And I didn’t do anything, Derek was the one who beat him up. I just provided body shield. Not that it would do any good, Simmons could probably snap me in half whenever he felt like it.”

“C’mon, Stiles, please,” she said with an exaggerated pout.

“You might as well tag along, she won’t leave you alone until you do what she wants.”

Derek’s sitting behind the wheel, his sunglasses already on. Erica rolled her eyes, he was such a fake. Especially where Stiles was concerned. She really didn’t see why the hell he didn’t just ask Stiles out but she knew better than ask. Meddle, however, she still could do.

She grabbed her bag from the roof of the car and got in the backseat, patting the front seat invitingly.

“C’mon, Stiles.”

“I do have a car, you know. I can follow you guys, I’m sure you’d rather spend time together – “

Erica huffed.

“Why does everyone think Derek and I are together? We’re not and guy-girl friendships exist, you know? So stop making those allusions, Stilinski, and get your cute butt in this car before I change my mind and make your life miserable.”

Stiles looked hilarious just standing there with a dumbfounded expression. She was going to have to work hard to get those two idiots together. They better be worth it because it meant Erica was giving up any chance of acting on her long-standing crush on Stiles. The things she did for Derek.

Stiles slid into the car, his backpack perched on his lap as he twisted around to click his seatbelt. Derek revved up the engine and tore out of the parking before Stiles was done, making him let out a startled yelp.

“Dude!”

“Don’t call me dude.”

Erica leaned back in the seat, the tissue pressed to her lips hiding the self satisfied smile. She might have gotten punched but at least Simmons would never bother her again if he was smart and had seen Derek’s expression. And she had totally caught the way Derek warned Simmons off her _and_ Stiles both.

She could work with that.

*

Derek was still angry when they got to the mall. Seeing that scumbag hit Erica had made him see red. He hadn’t noticed that kid before today, as he certainly hadn’t merited any of Derek’s interest. But now – now the kid was on his shit list.

He listened to Erica and Stiles banter easily as they made their way through the mall. His hands itched to curl up in fists, to punch something, to inflict as much damage as he could. He fisted his fingers hard enough for the joints to crack. He took in a few deep breaths. He needed to calm down. Erica was okay – apart from the split lip – and that stupid kid was the one who would be healing for weeks. Derek planned on making his life living hell for the rest of his time at Beacon Hills High.

“Derek!”

Erica’s voice snapped him out of his reverie. She and Stiles were looking at him with concern, small paper cups in their hands.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

Erica gave him a doubtful look but nodded her head towards the stack of paper tubes.

“Well, get one so we can educate your taste buds in the amazingness that is froyo.”

Derek rolled his eyes but picked the medium container with an exaggerated flourish. Stiles smiled at that, looking to the side. Erica bounced on the balls of her feet and moved towards the yogurt machine.

“Now, you choose which flavour you want. Chocolate, vanilla, natural, strawberry, cherry, banana, mint chip. Choose wisely because this? This is the basis of your experience,” she said in a serious tone as she put chocolate yogurt in her cup. Stiles moved to fill his with banana. Derek shrugged and got himself vanilla, much to Erica’s dismay.

“Really?”

“It’s a classic.”

She snorted at that but moved towards the stand with jars. She picked a few different toppings, clearly believing it to be a simple enough task that she didn’t need to run a commentary for Derek’s benefit. With a shrug he got some strawberries, Smarties and chocolate chips. 

After paying for their froyo they moved to sit at one of the benches. Erica dug into her froyo with gusto, moaning around the plastic spoon, making Derek give her a dirty look. She grinned at him, elbowing Stiles.

“Is yours good?”

“Please, this thing is perfection. Banana with raspberries, chocolate chips, gummy bears and chocolate syrup. Froyo of champions, ladies and gentlemen.”

Before Stiles could react, Erica stuck her spoon in his cup, scooping a bit of his froyo and popping the spoon in her mouth. She hummed considering, tapping her spoon against her chin.

“It’s passable.”

“Passable? Passable?! You clearly need to be educated in froyo as well. This is perfection. This is better than curly fries, I will have you know.”

“Well, I don’t know. What do you think, Derek?”

Derek shrugged, his eyes glued to his cup. 

“C’mon, man, you totally have to taste it now. No way am I letting Erica judge my froyo. It’s simply not done, okay. Here,” Stiles stuck his cup out to Derek. “Go ahead, you know you want to. Once you taste the Stilinski flavour, you never go back.”

Erica snickered at that, and Derek gave in, scooping a bit of the yogurt on his spoon, tasting it. It was actually pretty good, he thought as he chewed on the cold gummy bear. It was a good combination.

“It’s good.”

Stiles made a triumphant sound, his finger pointing at Erica.

“Ha!”

Erica just rolled her eyes, stealing a bit of Derek’s froyo. 

“Oh please, he didn’t even know what froyo was before I told him. Derek is a froyo virgin, I mean c’mon, he went with _vanilla_.”

Stiles choked at that, his hands flailing about comically. Derek leaned back, reached around Erica and thumped him on the back. Stiles coughed and nodded at him.

“Thanks, man.”

Derek shrugged and went back to eating. Erica bumped his shoulder with her, her lips quirked up in a little smile. He gave her a small smile back, keeping back the urge to punch something when she winced as her split lip pulled.

“So you guys aren’t together? Damn, I should have bet on you when I had the chance.”

“Bet? What are you talking about?” Derek frowned.

Stiles shrugged, his spoon scrapping at the paper cup. He licked his lips, Derek’s eyes following the motion.

“Well, you’re like the hottest gossip in school, you know? The new power couple, of course people are talking. If you heard some of the things they say, seriously. I’ve heard that you totally, like, robbed a bank or something. That you, Derek, gave Erica the makeover so you could get her a job at a stripper joint. Then there was that rumour that you’re performing ritual sacrifices out of people you pick up in bars for a threesome. Oh, and apparently you’re vampires or something. Obviously not the sparkling kind. More like the _True Blood_ ones, with insane sex appeal and perfect hair.”

Erica started laughing somewhere in the middle of Stiles’ tirade, tears of mirth streaking down her cheeks as she clutched her stomach with one hand, the other holding her unfinished cup of froyo. Derek looked at her with amusement, one of his brows raised. His expression only set her off even more whenever she looked at him. He looked to Stiles, who shrugged his shoulders in a ‘what can you do?’ motion.

Erica wiped away the tears and took in a few deep breaths, her hand swishing away from her body with each exhale, as if she was physically expelling the mirth from her body. She schooled her expression into that of amused disdain, the expression that she wore regularly at school now, and turned to Stiles.

“That was enlightening. Thank you.”

Stiles snorted.

“You’re welcome. Seriously, some of the things people say about you, I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.”

“I didn’t know you listened to gossip,” Derek butted in.

“Well, it’s not as if I have anything else to do, you know? Not since Scott moved and school started. Might as well gather all the blackmail material I can.”

“Who’s Scott?”

“Scott, Scott McCall. He was in my and Erica’s year, he’s my best friend. His mom’s a nurse and she got a job in Sacramento over the summer so they had to move. We were on the lacrosse team together. Well, we mainly warmed the benches, Scott’s asthmatic and I’m crap at lacrosse so I quit after he moved. No sense in staying on the team if I never get to play. And thank god I quit, because I don’t think I could stand being on the team with Whittemore— he’s a such a dickhead.”

Derek nodded at that, thinking back to when he saw Stiles for the first time, pushed against the lockers with Whittemore jeering at him. Stiles looked so scared back then, that broken expression on his face as Whittemore taunted him.

“What did he say to you that day?”

Stiles closed his mouth with an audible snap, his body language screaming of discomfort. Erica reached a hand, putting it on Stiles’ back, and not drawing back when he flinched. She drew little circles on Stiles’ back as they waited for him to speak.

“He learned that I – I mean – I’m bisexual,” he spit out the word quickly, refusing to look at either of them. “And he found out about that. And my crush on Lydia Martin, she’s his girlfriend. So he thought he needed to put me back in my place and—“

“And he bullied you.”

“Yeah.”

Derek squished the cup he was holding and got up. He threw it away and stood in front of Stiles.

“If he ever does anything like that again, you let me know.”

Stiles whipped his head around to look up at him, his expression mutinous. His eyes sparked with anger, making Derek suck in a startled breath. Jesus Christ, that kid was gorgeous.

“I don’t need you to save me.”

Derek shrugged.

“You’ll still tell me.”

Erica, surprisingly, had stayed quiet up to that point. She punched Stiles’ shoulder lightly, taking his attention off Derek.

“No one denies that you’re a badass, Stiles. You’re totally Batman after you got me away from Simmons today. Just because someone offers their help doesn’t mean they see you as weak. Do you think I’m weak?”

Stiles shook his head.

“You could kick my ass if you wanted to, easily. Besides, you’re strong mentally. You never let any of it get to you. And if I’m Batman, then you’re totally Catwoman.”

She smiled at that.

“Neither do you. But neither you nor I can kick ass the way Derek can. We can sass people, sure, but sometimes they need to get their ass handed to them on a silver platter and well, Derek’s pretty good at that.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Stiles remarked dryly. 

Derek huffed, putting on his sunglasses.

“C’mon, we’ll drop you off at the parking lot. I gotta get home soon.”

“So you guys don’t mind that I...?”

Snorting inelegantly, Erica got up from the bench. She hauled Stiles up by his shirt, linking their arms together. She threw her froyo container in the bin and linked her other arm with Derek’s.

“Oh please, it’s not a big deal.”

Stiles visibly relaxed at that and Derek couldn’t help throwing in, “Besides, that would be hypocritical of me.”

He smiled at Stiles’ shocked expression.

“What do you mean?”

“He means he’s bisexual too, silly. Now I feel like I’m left out of the LGBT club. Well, I did always wonder how it would be to make out with Megan Fox,” Erica said with a devilish smile.

Stiles’ mouth was round around the soft ‘oh’ he made, unable to hold Derek’s gaze. Either his eyes were tricking him, or Stiles was blushing.

Curious, Derek thought. Very curious.

*

Erica stretched in her bed with a soft sound, burying herself under the toasty warm covers. It was Saturday morning and she intended to sleep in but after a glance at the clock she saw it was only 9:00 a.m. With a disappointed moan she rolled out of the bed, well aware she wouldn’t be able to go back to bed. She padded out of her room and into the bathroom, waving sleepily at Emily, her little sister.

After her morning routine she went downstairs to get some breakfast. Her mom was in the kitchen, her hands covered in flour.

“Good morning, sweetie,” she said without turning around.

“Hey, Mom. What are you making?”

Erica reached for a bowl, intent on getting some cereal for breakfast. Her mother looked up and gasped, letting the dough she’s been kneading fall on the table.

“Did you have a seizure? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She took Erica’s face in her hands, running her thumb lightly over Erica’s split lip. Erica refused to meet her eyes, her shoulder rising up to her ears as she squeezed her mother’s wrists.

“It wasn’t a seizure, Mom.”

Her mother’s brows furrowed in concern but she let go of Erica’s face. She leaned against the counter with the hip, effectively boxing Erica in.

“What happened?”

“A guy at school didn’t like that I started hanging around with Derek.”

“So he hit you?”

Her mother’s voice could barely restrain the fury. Erica reached out and put her hand on her mother’s arm.

“Yeah, he did. But it’s okay, Mom, really. Derek took care of him. He won’t be bothering me anymore.”

“We should inform your school. And the Sheriff, that was an assault, that boy should be thrown in jail—“

“Mom, Mom, stop, okay, it’s okay,” she hugged her mother tightly. 

“How can you be sure he won’t bother you anymore? What if Derek isn’t there to help you next time?”

Erica stepped away, a small smile on her lips. She knew her mother wouldn’t approve of how it’s been handled but Erica didn’t want to make it a big deal.

“Well, no one will bother me if they are smart. Derek kind of uh, beat the crap out of that guy in the parking lot.”

Mrs. Reyes’ eyebrows shot up, her expression clearly disapproving. She moved away from Erica, back to kneading the dough. Erica let her mother mull over that as she poured milk over her cereal. She hopped on the counter by the fridge and ate her breakfast.

“Is he violent?”

“Derek?”

“Yes.”

Erica shrugged.

“He has some anger issues after the fire, yeah.”

“Are you sure you should be his friend? What if he turns on you someday?”

Erica shook her head vehemently.

“No, Mom, that will never happen. It’s not who Derek is. He’s fiercely protective of me because I’m his friend, he’d rather cut off his own arm than hurt me. That’s the kind of person he is.”

“You don’t know him that well—“

“I might not know him for years, Mom, but I trust him. Honestly? I feel safe around him, like I do around you and dad.”

Her mother hummed at that, flattening the dough and reaching for cookie cutters.

“When I was your age, I liked the bad boys as well, honey, but some of them are beyond saving.”

Erica took a spoonful of her cereal and mulled over that. It was true, but Derek wasn’t like that. The fire changed him, she could say. He was more standoffish, angrier, but sometimes she could see the guy he was before the fire, with his huge smile and goofy sense of humor that he only showed when they were alone. In public, he had a reputation to uphold, a role to play, just like the rest of them.

“True but I told you it’s not like that. Derek’s interested in someone else, Mom, and even if he wasn’t, his friendship is more important to me. He was the catalyst for me, you know? For why I finally became who I wanted to be. He gets me. Sure, he’s gruff and moody and believe me, he can brood like nobody’s business but he’s a good person. He misses his family so much. I never thought he’d let me in so easily but,” she took in a deep breath before continuing, “he’s my best friend, Mom. My first best friend away from the family.”

Her mom observed her shrewdly, her hands moving automatically over the dough, cutting the cookie forms. She clearly wasn’t too happy with how things turned out but her expression softened at Erica’s words. 

“Bring him for dinner. I want to talk to him.”

Erica blinked at that.

“Didn’t you hear what I said? Derek’s – “

“Not interested, yes. Still, invite him over. I want to meet my daughter’s best friend.”

Erica let a small, bashful smile creep on her lips and ducked her head. 

“Okay,” she said happily. “I will.”

*

A few weeks later, the day after Halloween, Derek laid on his bed on his back, staring at his ceiling as Erica rummaged through his closet. 

“What are you looking for?”

“Narnia,” she snarked back.

Derek pulled his best bitch face at her, making her laugh out loud. She made a triumphant sound as she pulled one of his old Henleys out of the closet. It was grey and soft from being worn so much. Erica pulled it over her top with a small smile.

“There, that’s perfect.”

“Why are you wearing my Henley?”

“Because you’re my substitute for a boyfriend and I always wanted to do that. Besides, I’m on my period and I want comfort and you refuse to watch Love Actually with me and eat ice cream.”

Derek shook his head, feeling his bed bounce as Erica threw herself on it. She nudged his arm and he nudged back. 

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

“Uh-huh.”

They laid in silence for a while before Erica moved to lay on her side, her head propped on her hand, looking at him inquiringly, her lip caught between her teeth.

“What?”

“There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“What is it? Are you okay?”

She waved her hand dismissively, only to lower it to pick at his comforter.

“It’s not about me. Do you know Isaac Lahey?”

Derek furrowed his brows, trying to place the name. He scratched his stomach lightly and shook his head.

“No, who’s that? Is he bothering you?”

“He’s a kid in my year. He’s on the lacrosse team. He’s always covered in bruises.”

Derek shrugged at that.

“Lacrosse’s pretty violent.”

“Yeah, only Stiles told me Isaac never plays. He’s a permanent bench warmer, just like Stiles was.”

“What are you getting at?”

“If he’s not getting injured during practices and matches, then how come he has bruises?”

Derek turned his head to look at her fully. She was obviously concerned about the kid, her brows furrowed, a small line appearing between them. He didn’t like what she was saying, and he didn’t get why she was saying it to him of all people. Just because he helped her and took care of her, didn’t mean he was a patron saint for lost causes. Erica wasn’t a lost cause, she never had been, she just didn’t believe it.

“You think someone’s beating him up?”

She shrugged, her lips pursed. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and pleading.

“I think his dad’s beating him. Could you, I don’t know, could you talk to him?”

“Why is he so important to you?”

She was silent for a while, her hand moving to pick up imaginary lint from his shirt. She squeezed his arm.

“I don’t know. He just looks so hopeless.”

“I’m not a social worker, Erica.”

“I know that. But you’re in the system. Maybe tell him it isn’t that bad, staying out of the foster system isn’t worth being beaten and treated like crap—“

“But it can be bad. I was lucky that my foster parents took me in. They’re good people, but some of the families out there aren’t. It’s chance that I got them, Isaac could end up in an even worse situation.”

“You’re turning eighteen soon, right?”

“Next week, yeah.”

“And you’re going to be out of the system then.”

“I’m going to live here until I graduate.”

“But then your foster parents will be able to take someone else in.”

“You mean Isaac.”

She nodded.

“Why?”

“We used to play together in kindergarten. He was my friend, he used to be so happy. He’s got this big smile that makes you feel like you did something good when he smiles at you. But then his mother died and Isaac changed. He became withdrawn, started showing up with bruises, became afraid of his own shadow.”

“I don’t know what you want me to do.”

She hid her face in his arm, her breath leaving damp patches on the material as she breathed out. 

“Talk to him?”

“Okay.”

“Thank you.”

He squeezed her hand, tangling their fingers together.

“Don’t thank me yet, it might blow up in our faces.”

That was how Derek found himself hunting Isaac down before school the next day. 

“Isaac.”

The kid looked startled, his eyes huge. His body language screamed of fear and he looked like he was poised to run any moment now. The huge eyes and curls reminded Derek of Bambi. It had been his little sister’s favourite Disney movie.

“Y-Yeah?”

“Can we talk?”

“Uh, what about?”

“You know Erica Reyes?”

Isaac nodded, refusing to meet Derek’s eyes. Derek curled his fists and cursed at himself when Isaac saw the motion and flinched.

“She’s worried about you. I — listen, what do you have now?”

“Homeroom and English.”

“Can you skip?”

“No.”

Derek nodded at that. He looked around them, noticing people staring at them. The silence between him and Isaac was growing awkward, Isaac shuffling like he wanted to get away but wasn’t sure if he was allowed.

Damn Erica to hell.

“Is your father beating you?”

Blunt, too blunt, probably, but they didn’t have time for niceties. Isaac made a wounded sound, plastering himself against his locker, putting as much distance between himself and Derek.

“If he is, I can help you. Meet me at the car park after school if you want to hear what I have to offer.”

With that he nodded at Isaac and stalked off to his homeroom. 

The day dragged by. His math class was boring as hell and AP biology wasn’t that much better. His lab partner was too stupid to breathe without the say so of her posse so he was left to do all of their work on his own. Lunch came and went, with Erica chattering at him about the latest gossip. He wasn’t really interested in learning that Peggy Darcy was pregnant and she said Whittemore was the baby daddy, much to Lydia Martin’s outrage. Apparently Martin tore the girl a new one during her legendary Halloween party, making Peggy cry and confess she didn’t know who the father of her baby was. What Stiles saw in Lydia, he would never know.

Speaking of Stiles, he tended to nod and wave at him and Erica but rarely joined them at their table for lunch. Derek thought that after their froyo escapade, Stiles would become a permanent fixture at their table. But much to his dismay, it wasn’t so. At least Erica didn’t mock him about it. Too much.

French, his last class of the day, went by surprisingly fast. Ms. Morell had them write an essay about their Christmas plans. Derek finished his essay just as the last bell rang and handed it to Ms. Morell. He left the class, making his way to his locker where Erica was already waiting for him.

“I’m going to talk to Isaac. I’m not sure if you should tag along.”

She nodded at that, hiking her bag over her shoulder as the strap slid down. 

“Yeah, okay. I’ll get Stiles to give me a ride.”

“See you tomorrow?”

“Puh-lease, I’ll drop by this evening. I’ll even bring you Twizzlers.”

He gave her a little smile, closing his locker.

“Alright.”

“I’ll give Stiles a big kiss for you,” she teased, waving at him and walking away before he could reply.

Shaking his head, he made his way to his car, ready to wait for Isaac. He wasn’t sure if the kid would show up. He figured he could wait an hour, just in case.

To his surprise, Isaac was already waiting for him by Derek’s car. Derek nodded at him, opened the car and motioned for Isaac to get in.

“Uh, my bike—“

“We’re not going anywhere. It’s just for privacy.”

Isaac got in, his shoulders hunched, staring at the dashboard in front of him.

“Erica’s worried?”

“Yes.”

“I’m surprised she remembers me.”

Derek shrugged, putting the keys in his pocket. He rested his left hand on the wheel, the right one curled up on his thigh.

“She said you were her friend back in kindergarten. Then your mom died and you started showing up roughed up. You withdrew from everyone.”

Isaac picked at the cuticle around his thumb, shrugging.

“Yeah.”

“You know you can report him?”

“Yeah.”

They sat in silence, Isaac twitching in the seat, clearly uncomfortable with this situation. Derek figured it was up to him to say what needed to be said. Isaac had showed up, so he was clearly interested. 

“I’m in the foster system. Ever since the fire, I mean. My foster parents are good people. I’m turning eighteen next week and they will be able to take in another kid.”

Isaac whipped his head so fast Derek thought the kid would get whiplash. He stared at Derek with a strange expression, confusion warring with hope.

“I can talk to them about you. It would have to go through proper channels and all that but you could move in anytime, basically. As long as you’re ready to give evidence of your father’s abuse.”

“Why are you doing this?”

Derek cleared his throat, his eyes searching out Stiles’ Jeep. He traced Stiles and Erica walking out from the school, Erica laughing at something Stiles said, Stiles’ face arranged in an exaggerated scowl.

“It’s important to Erica.”

“Oh. You guys—?”

Derek shook his head, his eyes still on Stiles and Erica. Isaac’s eyes followed the line of his gaze, taking the scene in front of him.

“No, she’s my friend. Best friend. And you’re important to her, so you’re important to me. You shouldn’t have to live through that, Isaac.”

“It wasn’t that bad, you know? Not until Cam died in the army. When Cam was alive my dad, he was okay. I mean he got angry sometimes, yeah, but he didn’t take it out on me so often — Cam got the brunt of it. But after Cam, it got so much worse. It’s like he’s not even my father anymore.”

“Do you want me to talk to my foster parents?”

Isaac didn’t say anything for a long while. They watched as Stiles and Erica climbed into the Jeep and left the school grounds. The parking got empty around them, until Derek’s car and Isaac’s bike were the only vehicles left. Isaac took in a deep breath, balling his hands into fists around his backpack.

“Yes.”

Derek took out the keys, put them in the ignition and started the car. Isaac looked at him questioningly.

“We might as well go now. I’ll drop you here later to pick up your bike.”

“Yeah, okay.”

*

Derek and Erica spent their weekend helping Isaac to pack his things and move them to Derek’s. 

*

On the morning of the seventh of November, Erica made her way into Derek’s house with a huge birthday cake. It was five thirty in the morning when sleepy looking Isaac opened the door for her with a small smile. She passed him the cake with a wink, taking off her coat, scarf and shoes.

“Is he still asleep?”

“Yeah. Ashley and Phil said to help ourselves to breakfast.”

She nodded and made her way to the kitchen, looking for a knife to cut up the cake. Isaac put it on the table, opening the box and chuckling at the cake.

“To Derekboo? Really? He’s going to make you walk to school from now on.”

Erica snorted, cutting the cake.

“He can try. I have too much blackmail material on him and he knows it.”

“Do you want me to get plates?”

“Nah, this is good. I’ll get some spoons and we can go wake him up.”

She puttered around the kitchen, finding the spoons and holding them up with a triumphant grin. Isaac grabbed the box and they made their way upstairs to Derek’s room. Erica opened the door slowly, conscious that it would not crack and wake Derek up. Isaac closed the door behind them, careful not to wake up their foster parents.

Derek was deeply asleep, his usually artfully-tousled hair sticking up in every direction. He had his duvet hiked up to his ears, and his face hidden in the pillow. One of his feet was sticking out and Erica tickled it gently. Derek twitched his foot, grumbling in his sleep. Erica ran the tips of her fingers over the skin of his foot more insistently, making Derek jerk his foot back under the covers. 

“Derek.”

Isaac shook his head at her when Derek didn’t react. She huffed and threw herself on Derek’s bed, making him bounce and jerk awake.

“Wha—“

“Good morning, birthday boy!”

Derek moaned sleepily, looking at his alarm clock with a scowl.

“Are you fucking kidding me? It’s five-forty am!”

“We brought you cake,” Isaac threw in.

Derek squinted at them and backed up on his bed, making more space for them all to sit comfortably.

“It better be vanilla raspberry or I will make you walk to school for the rest of the year.”

Isaac sat on the bed and presented Derek with the box. Derek sat up, his duvet falling down to pool in his lap. Erica whistled at the sight of Derek’s naked chest, making him roll his eyes. He grabbed a shirt from the floor and put it on before opening the box.

The room was silent.

“Derekboo?”

“I could have gone with Der-bear.”

“Thank god you didn’t. Now give me a spoon.”

Erica handed him a spoon, passing one to Isaac. Derek put the box on the bed so that everyone could reach it and took a huge bite of his cake. He sighed at the taste and licked his spoon.

“Good?”

Derek nodded at Isaac, giving Erica a small smile.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it, boo.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Do you have an aversion to pet names?”

Derek grunted, taking another bite of his cake. Erica continued, swirling her spoon in the air to make her point.

“Or do you have an aversion to pet names that weren’t given to you by Stiles?”

“What,” he barked out.

Isaac stuffed his mouth full of cake and watched Erica and Derek as if they were playing an excellent game of tennis.

“Oh, c’mon, I noticed you didn’t scowl at Stiles when he called you a sourwolf the other day.”

“He what?”

Erica grinned gleefully.

“You didn’t hear? Were you too busy fantasising about his co—“

Isaac made a choking sound, thumping his chest, making Erica lose the train of her thought. 

“It’s too early for that, guys. Please,” Isaac said softly once he got his breath back.

Erica raised her hands in surrender, an innocent expression on her face, one that fooled no one. She bounced on Derek’s bed, making it shake. Derek threw her a dirty look, one that she countered with an approximation of his bitch face. 

“So, any plans for today?”

“No.”

Erica pursed her lips.

“We could—“

“No.”

“You don’t know what I was about to say.”

“You wanted to throw a party. Or go to a bar. Or raid Phil’s alcohol cabinet. The answer is still no.”

“Spoilsport.”

They sat on the bed, demolishing the cake. Erica saved three slices, hitting Derek’s hand with her spoon when he made to start on them.

“No. They’re for Ashley, Phil and Stiles.”

“It’s my cake, Erica.”

“I paid for it.”

“Fine.”

Erica put the box on Derek’s nightstand and stretched on the bed, throwing her feet in Isaac’s lap. She nudged Derek, her eyebrows moving up and down comically as she motioned her head towards Isaac.

“What?” Isaac asked, his expression carefully blank.

Derek reached under his bed, took out a shopping bag, and put it in Isaac’s lap.

“For you.”

“But it’s your birthday.”

“Just open it,” Erica dug her foot into his thigh.

She watched as Isaac took out the leather jacket out of the bag reverently. He held it up, his fingers running over the smooth leather before he looked at them with a huge smile that lit his whole face up.

“Seriously?”

“Oh yeah. You’re one of us now. You gotta look the part,” Erica teased with a smile.

Isaac put the jacket on, testing how it stretched over his shoulders. His fingered the cuffs, his head ducked to hide his pleased expression.

“I was right,” Erica said to Derek. “Told you his smile was like the Nobel peace prize or something."

*

Derek was coming out of his AP Bio class when he saw Whittemore press Stiles against the lockers again. Stiles’ expression closed off. Without thinking about it, Derek made his way to them, his hand pushing Whittemore away from Stiles.

“Stay away from him.”

“Or what?”

“Or you’ll regret it.”

Whittemore laughed at that, his stupidly perfect teeth a white flash. He leaned in closer to Derek, an infuriating smirk plastered on his lips.

“Why do you care, Hale? Is he your boyfriend or something?”

Stiles choked a hysterical laugh at that, freezing when Derek threw his arm around his shoulders, bringing them together. Whittemore pulled back, confusion clear on his face.

“Yeah and he’s under my protection. You’re not a stupid kid, Whittemore, ask your pals what I can do and think before you try anything with Stiles again.”

Whittemore huffed and turned around, walking away. Derek tightened his grip around Stiles’ shoulders, waiting until Whittemore disappeared from his view to turn to look at Stiles.

“You okay?”

“Uh, yeah, fine, thanks.”

“I told you to tell me if he was bothering you.”

Stiles scowled at that, moving to put some distance between himself and Derek. He turned to his locker, opening it and taking out books.

“Oh yeah, ‘cause I’m gonna run to you every time someone looks at me wrong. I can handle myself, you know. I don’t need your protection.”

Derek gritted his teeth, grabbing Stiles’ arm and making him look at him.

“Quit that. Whittemore can kick the crap out of you. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

“Why do you care anyway, Derek? Am I your charity case? Poor Stiles Stilinski, the klutz who can never shut up, talks without saying anything — you think I need you to swoop in and be my knight in shining armor?”

Derek let go of Stiles, afraid he would leave bruises if he held too tightly.

“I like you, you idiot,” he growled and walked away, leaving a gaping Stiles behind.

He decided to ditch the rest of his classes. He nodded at Isaac in the corridor and made his way to the lacrosse field. He threw his bag by the bleachers closest to the woods and sat down, pulling cigarettes out of his pocket and lighting one. 

He really didn’t know what it was about Stiles that made Derek like him. The kid was too loud, too mouthy, constantly in motion, twitching, licking his lips, tapping his foot. His mouth ran miles ahead of his brain and he was a walking trouble magnet. He made Derek’s skin itch, set his teeth on edge. Stiles annoyed him, made him want to slam him against a wall and cover his mouth with his lips, crowding him in, pressing them tightly until there was no space between them.

Stiles made him feel alive. He made Derek want to slow down, take his time exploring who Stiles was. He wanted to listen to Stiles talk about comic books with Erica, wanted to take him out to the movies. He wanted to make out with Stiles in his Camaro, aware of the way Stiles’ eyes lit up whenever he saw Derek’s car. He wanted to fight with Stiles and make up, wanted to listen to Stiles teach him all about the things he knew. He wanted to show Stiles how to fix a car and make his favourite tea. He wanted to learn what Stiles looked like when he had just woken up and what he looked like when he was dead tired. 

He wanted Stiles and it should scare him because he trusted Stiles. But he couldn’t find it in himself to be afraid. Not since Erica had wormed herself into his life and showed him that he could still live, that he could move on and make friends and have a family. He didn’t have to live in the past. He could live in the now. It was a heady knowledge.

Derek spent the rest of the day in the woods, smoking and thinking. When school let out, he flicked his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. He grabbed his bag and made his way to his car, ready to drive Erica and Isaac back home.

He threw his bag in the back of his car and leaned against its side, waiting. Erica and Isaac came out of the school, Stiles trailing behind them slowly. He stopped when he caught the sight of Derek, people running into his back, making him stumble. Isaac stopped, noticing Stiles wasn’t with them, and turned around. Stiles waved his hand, telling Isaac to go on. Derek tore his eyes away and got into his car.

The next day after school, he was greeted by Sheriff Stilinski.

“Mr. Hale.”

“Sheriff,” Derek replied evenly, his mind spinning. What was wrong? “Are Ashley and Phil – “

The Sheriff sucked in a breath, nodding his head.

“They’re fine, they’re fine. I’m here to ask you to come down to the station. I have a few questions I want to ask you.”

“Can’t you ask me now?”

“I’d rather not. Follow my car, alright?”

Derek nodded.

“Fine, I usually give ride to Erica and Isaac – “

“I’m sure Stiles can cover that.”

Derek got into his car, starting the engine, waiting for Sheriff to get in his cruiser. He caught the sight of Erica and Isaac looking at him with concern as he left the parking lot. He drove slowly behind the Sheriff, making sure he paid extra attention to the traffic. He racked his brain, trying to come up with a reason as to why Stilinski would ask him to come to the station. He came up with nothing.

He parked his car in front of the station and got out, following the Sheriff inside. They made their way to an interrogation room, and Derek’s whole posture stiffened. Sheriff Stilinski gestured towards the chair, taking the other one for himself.

“Sit down, Mr. Hale. Derek.”

Derek sit down stiffly.

“What’s this about, Sheriff?”

“Tell me, do you know a Jackson Whittemore?”

“Yes. He’s in Stiles’ year.”

Stilinski nodded, pursing his lips.

“Yes. You see, Jackson’s car tires got slashed last night and I’ve been told you threatened him.”

Derek bit his tongue hard, cursing inside. Stupid little shit was trying to get his revenge. Would it be better or worse if Derek told the Sheriff just why he threatened Whittemore?

“Who told you that?”

“Doesn't matter. Did you threaten him?”

“I explained to him what would happen if he didn’t stop bullying someone I know.”

Stilinski made a humming sound, his hands clasped together on the table as he leaned in towards Derek.

“Did you slash his tires last night, Derek?”

“No, sir, I didn’t.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

The Sheriff leaned back in his chair, tsking. He stared at Derek, as if daring him to crack. Derek stared right back, his face blank. He had practice, just ask the court-appointed shrink he’d gotten after the fire.

“You didn’t decide that slashing Jackson’s tires would teach him a lesson?”

“No, sir.”

“That’s hard to believe. Apparently this wasn’t the first time you have threatened someone, son.”

Derek shrugged at that, not saying anything. 

The door swung open, banding against the wall. Stiles stood there, clearly out of breath, his hand on his knees as he gulped air. The Sheriff scowled at him, getting out of the chair.

“What are you doing here? You can’t be here, Stiles, how many times—“

“Dad, it wasn’t Derek. He was with me then.”

The Sheriff turned to look at Stiles, his eyes narrowed. Stiles stood in the door, shifting under the weight of his father's gaze. His leg tapped frantically against the floor.

“Derek was with you,” it came out flat, disbelieving. 

“Yeah, we were hanging out.”

The Sheriff looked at Derek, gauging his reaction.

“Since when do you hang out with Derek Hale, son?”

Stiles bounced at the balls on his feet, shrugging carelessly.

“He helped me with some guys who were bothering me at school a few weeks ago. We’ve been hanging out from time to time.”

“That true, Derek?”

Derek nodded, his eyes never leaving the Sheriff. Stiles bobbed his head, his hands flying around him wildly.

“See? He couldn’t have slashed Jackson’s tires.”

“And where were you... hanging out, exactly?”

The question was aimed at him but before he could answer, Stiles blurted out,

“We were in the woods.”

The Sheriff turned around quickly.

“The woods? Stiles! I told you, you can’t hang out in the woods! Not with the animal attacks going on. Christ, kid, what were you thinking?”

Stiles’ cheeks turned red and he avoided his father’s eyes.

“I know, dad, okay? I wouldn’t have told you if I thought I could keep it quiet. But I couldn’t, not when Jackson accused Derek and Derek didn’t do it!”

The Sheriff swiped his face with his hand, looking tired. Derek looked away.

“Fine. Derek, you can go. Stiles, you... just go home.”

“Thank you, sir,” Derek nodded, grabbing Stiles’ arm and dragging him outside of the station.

They stopped in front of Stiles’ Jeep, Derek dropping Stiles’ arm as if it burned him. He looked around, gauging if anyone was observing them.

“What the hell was that?”

Stiles bit his lip, looking around them as well. He leaned closer to Derek, his eyes never leaving Derek’s.

“I know you didn’t slash Jackson’s tires.”

“How can you know that?”

Stiles smirked, leaning back. He propped himself against the side of his Jeep, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, the picture of  
casualness.

“Because I did it.”

Derek narrowed his eyes, leaning in closer, his hands closed in fists.

“Are you insane?”

Stiles shrugged, his smirk morphing into a shit eating grin. He raised his chin in defiance.

“He had it coming.”

Derek growled, his eyes closing, trying to stop himself from shoving the kid against the car. Of all the stupid, idiotic things to do—

“What if your dad finds out it was you?”

“He won’t look at me now, not when I’m your alibi.”

Derek turned around and stalked away before he could punch Stiles. What a fucking stupid thing to do.

“You’re welcome!”

Stiles’ voice reached him just as he stopped in front of his Camaro. Even through his anger, he couldn’t help the upwards tug of his smile as he slid into the car.

That had been ballsy.

*

“You’re extra broody lately,” Erica remarked as she sat in Derek’s car, both of them waiting for Isaac after school.

“Am I.”

“Yes. And you’re reverting to stating questions instead of asking them. What’s wrong?”

Erica eyed Derek as his scowl deepened. She furrowed her brows, trying to think back to what could have set Derek off.

“Derek?”

Derek’s head thumped against the headrest of his seat, his eyes closed.

“Derek, tell me. C’mon. You know I will annoy the shit out of you until you give in, so save yourself some frustration and go for it. Use your words to describe your emotions. I know you know the words, Derek. Now, tell me what’s going on. Or I’ll start guessing and you won’t like that,” Erica pressed, her eyes never leaving Derek’s face.

“I told Stiles I liked him.”

“Oh,” she blinked at that, startled. This wasn’t what she thought it would be. “What did he say?”

“Nothing. I left right away.”

“Oh, Derek,” she reached out, squeezing his arm.

Derek smiled bitterly.

“It’s a bad idea anyway.”

“No, it’s not. You like him, he likes you—“

“You don’t know that.”

Erica snorted, making Derek give her a questioning look.

“You forgot the way he looked at us when he thought we were together? Like we’d killed his puppy and then told him Santa wasn’t real. He’s got a crush on you. It’s _obvious_.”

“He’s underage.”

“Please, you’re barely legal yourself. Stop making excuses.”

“I don’t know how to—“

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. Just talk to him, okay?”

Derek nodded at that. Erica decided to let it rest for now, even though she knew Derek would avoid Stiles if possible. It was how he operated. But he was mistaken if he thought Erica would let it go so easily. This was Derek and Stiles they were talking about. She turned the radio on, the sound of R’n’B filling the car as they waited.

“Oh, by the way, you and Isaac are coming over to dinner tonight.”

Derek raised his eyebrows at her, his fingers tapping against the steering wheel.

“My mom wants to meet you guys. At least my dad’s on a business trip so he won’t try to give you the whole ‘treat my daughter right’ talk. I swear, I tell them it’s not like that daily but they don’t believe me.”

“They care about you.”

Erica shrugged, rummaging through the glove compartment, digging around for candy she stashed there a few days before.

“We can drive by yours so you and Isaac can drop your bags at home and then we can go to mine. Watch a movie or something before dinner.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Isaac left school, making his way to Derek’s Camaro. Erica rolled her eyes and got in the back, allowing Isaac to sit shotgun. Isaac got in, placing his bag between his feet and thumped his head on the headrest.

“I am ready to go to bed and never get up.”

“Too bad, sunshine,” Erica sing-sang, “you and Derek are coming over to mine for dinner. My mom wants to meet you.”

Isaac turned to look at her, his eyes wide.

“Erica,” he whined. “I remember your mom. She’s scary.”

Erica grinned, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She winked at Derek in the rear view mirror.

“Where do you think I get it from, pretty boy?”

She got jerked backwards as Derek gunned it out of the parking lot. They made small chit chat about their day, snarking about their teachers. Erica stayed in the car while Isaac and Derek went to leave their bags in their house. She took the opportunity to take out her phone and text Stiles.

_U & me. Froyo tmrw, y/y?_

The reply came before Isaac and Derek were back.

_OK? Why?_

_Tell u tmr._

Erica put her phone back in her back and sat back in her seat. Derek and Isaac climbed back into the car and took off towards Erica’s.

*

Derek shifted uncomfortably in the chair. He and Erica had been friends for nearly three months now, sticking close together, spending their free time in each other’s company. Erica usually came by his place since his foster parents worked late and let them run wild. And since Isaac had moved to Derek’s, it was just easier to hang out there. This was the first time Derek ever entered Erica’s house.

It felt like a punch to the gut, the smell of cooking and the sight of a lived-in house. It reminded Derek of his family, before the fire, of sitting at a crowded table, arguing about who would get the last chicken drum, watching TV spread out all over the couch and floor, listening to his parents talk quietly in the kitchen at the end of the day, cups of warm milk in their hands. He missed his family so much.

Emily, Erica’s little sister, monopolised Isaac’s attention, sitting in the chair beside him, chattering away about her day at the preschool. Isaac nodded in all the right moments, his grin bright and infectious. Erica joined in, teasing her sister, messing up her hair. Emily pouted at Erica, pressing herself firmly along Isaac’s side. Derek recognised the way she acted — his little sister Emma had acted the same way when she’d had a crush on someone. Little Emma who would never grow up to have her first love, first kiss, first date...

“Can you help me with the dinner , Derek?”

Mrs. Reyes’ voice startled him out of his reverie and he got up, nodding. He followed her to the kitchen, waiting to be told what to do. Mrs. Reyes leaned against a counter, her arms crossed on her chest.

“So.”

Derek looked around, seeing that the food was already served on the plates. Mrs. Reyes clearly didn’t need his help.

“Yes, Mrs. Reyes?”

“How long have you been friends with my daughter?”

Derek quashed the urge to scratch at the back of his neck, keeping his expression open. Erica bitched at him that he tended to close himself off, claiming that his default mask scared people away.

“Three, nearly four months.”

“And how did you become friends? Erica never told me that.”

He wasn’t sure what to say. He remembered Erica not wanting the nurse to contact her mother in the aftermath of her seizure. He tried to come up with a lie but Mrs. Reyes raised her eyebrows as if reading his mind.

“The truth, please.”

“She had a seizure at school. I took her to the nurse since no one seemed to want to help her.”

“Four months ago? She never told me—“

Derek slid his hands into his jeans pockets, looking at the floor.

“She didn’t want you to worry. She told the nurse not to contact you. She didn’t hurt herself.”

Mrs. Reyes’ lips pursed tightly in displeasure. Derek didn’t envy the dressing down in Erica’s future. He just hoped she would realise he hadn’t had any choice but to tell the truth.

“I see. Well. I wanted to thank you. Ever since she met you, she has become more confident. She,” Mrs. Reyes took in a deep breath before continuing, “she became the Erica I always knew was there, hidden behind the epilepsy. She no longer lets it define her.”

Derek shook his head, his shoulders hunched awkwardly.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You were there for her and that’s all that matters. So thank you. You’re a good kid, Derek. I won’t lie, I was afraid at first when I learned she was friends with you. The things I heard in town weren’t exactly flattering. But you managed to show me that people were wrong. Erica has nothing but kind words to say when she talks about you.”

Derek felt a blush creep up his cheeks, his gaze averted from Mrs. Reyes. He cleared his throat, uncomfortable and gave in to his impulse to scratch at the back of his neck. He looked around the kitchen, his gaze landing on the plates.

“We had better eat before it gets cold.”

He risked a quick glance at Mrs. Reyes who was smiling at him with an amused expression. She handed him two plates and pushed him towards the dining room. Derek brought the two plates in, putting them in front of Erica and Isaac who looked at him questioningly. He shook his head slightly and sat down, Mrs. Reyes handing him one of the three plates she was balancing in her arms. Derek nodded his head in thanks, grabbing the knife that Erica had put out earlier when she was setting the table.

“Mommy, Mommy, can we keep Isaac? Please? Please?”

Mrs. Reyes chuckled, looking at Isaac who ducked his head with a shy smile, blush staining his cheeks.

“Isaac’s not a puppy to keep, Emily. He’s a human being.”

“Barely,” Erica drawled. “He gets excited like puppy, the way he smiles makes me think of sunshine and puppies and unicorns. Just as long as he doesn’t wag his tail in public.”

Isaac choked on the bite of chicken he was eating, his eyes bugging out of his head as he whirled around to glare at Erica, who was smiling at him innocently. Mrs. Reyes was holding in her laughter and Derek hid his smirk behind his cup, taking a sip of water.

Emily furrowed her brows.

“I don’t understand.”

“No, thank God you don’t,” Mrs. Reyes replied.

Well, it certainly wasn’t a dull dinner.

*

Erica twirled her carrot in hummus and then bit into it with a crunch. She let her eyes roam the cafeteria, sneering at people who caught her eye until she saw Stiles. She grinned at him, crooking her finger, indicating she wanted him to come over. Stiles shrugged and put the book he was reading in his bag, grabbed his tray, and made his way to Erica’s, Derek’s and Isaac’s table.

“Heeeey.”

Erica gave Derek a blank stare when he glared at her upon hearing Stiles’ voice. Derek grunted, Isaac nodded his head in greeting. Erica patted the chair next to her, opposite from Isaac.

“Sit with us, Stiles. Don’t be a stranger.”

Stiles put his tray, dropping into his chair. He made it skid across the floor, missing the seat by mere inches, falling down on his ass, the back of his head hitting the hard plastic. Snickers and laughter erupted around them, making Erica glare at the people in their vicinity. She held out her hand, helping Stiles get up, her foot hooked at the rear leg of the chair to keep it in place as Stiles sat.

“Are you okay?” Isaac asked, concern clear in his voice.

“Ah yeah, I’m fine man. Happens to me all the time. Gravity and I aren’t friends, actually. Thinking about it, hard objects aren’t my friends either. They have it out for me for some reason.”

Isaac looked amused at Stiles’ ramblings. Erica caught Derek giving Stiles a once over, making sure he hadn’t hurt himself. She nudged Stiles’ shoulder with her own, winking at him.

“We’re still on for froyo after school?”

“Totally, yeah! You guys joining us?” Stiles turned to Isaac and Derek.

“No, they’re not. I need some time alone with my sassy bi friend.”

Stiles blinked at that, clearing his throat.

“I thought Derek is your sassy bi friend?”

Erica waved her hand dismissingly.

“Oh no, Derek’s my moody bi friend. Isaac’s my sassy straight friend. I need more sass in my life.”

Erica grinned at the scowl Derek sent her, her teeth white and sharp. Isaac chuckled around the straw of his orange juice box.

“You have enough sass on your own but I am always happy to offer my wit and company to a fine lady such as yourself.”

“Aw, aren’t you just the cutest? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get in my pants.”

Stiles pulled a serious face, getting all up in Erica’s personal space. She could feel his breath fan her face when he spoke.

“How are you sure that’s not what I’m doing?”

Erica snorted at that, patting Stiles’ cheek condescendingly.

“Oh honey, I know it’s not me you have your eye on. But don’t worry,” she said, her gaze flitting to Derek quickly and then back to Stiles, “your secret’s safe with me.”

Stiles sat back in his chair, suddenly interested in his mac and cheese. He poked at it sharply before pursing his lips in a moue of disappointment.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t, Batman.”

Erica couldn’t wait to get him alone. The rest of her classes dragged on. She had calculus last, and she shared the class with Stiles. She looped her arm through his once he got his bag in order and walked out of the classroom, batting her eyelashes at Lydia Martin.

“I told Derek you’ll drive me home afterwards.”

“Yeah, sure. You live on Ashfield, right?”

“Yep,” she popped the ‘p’. “Now let’s get some froyo. I’m starving!”

They drove to the mall, bickering all the way. Stiles wasn’t a fan of X-Men: The First Class while Erica loved it. They snarked back and forth about Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, coming to an agreement that Jennifer Lawrence had been the unsung hero of the film with her stunning performance and affinity for blue.

Once they got their froyos (raspberry with M&Ms, chocolate chips and cookie crumble for Erica, mint chocolate with Smarties and strawberries and chocolate syrup for Stiles) they sat at the same bench they had sat on with Derek previously. Erica hummed around her spoon, watching people pass them by. Stiles stole a spoonful of her froyo with a bright grin that reminded her so much of the one he used to wear constantly around his best friend, Scott. 

“How’s Scott?”

“He’s good. He’s coming over for Christmas break.”

“Awesome! We’ll have to hang out then.”

Stiles shrugged noncommittally, scraping at the bottom of his cup. Erica observed him openly, cataloguing the expanse of his pale skin, the moles peppering his face, the circles under his eyes, the pout of his lips. She shook her head, clearing her mind. Stiles was off limits.

“So.”

Stiles looked at her, apparently wary of her tone. He tried to raise an eyebrow, a move he had clearly tried to steal from Derek, but ended up looking like he had been electrocuted.

“So?”

Erica rolled her eyes, putting her froyo cup down between them, turning her body to fully face Stiles.

“So, your crush on Derek.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” was the instant reply.

“Oh, really? So you weren’t jealous when you thought Derek and I were dating? Because you sure glared a lot about that. Like that time when Lydia Martin started going out with Brian Lawson. You looked like we’d kicked your puppy.”

“That wasn’t—“

“And you looked really relieved when I told you Derek and I were just friends. Plus, you stare at him like all the time. You’re not as subtle as you think you are.”

Stiles scowled.

“I’m subtle, thank you very much!”

“No, you’re really not, Stiles. You’re about as subtle as pink elephant in the room.”

“Why do I have a feeling you’re not going to take no for an answer?”

“Because I’m not, so you might as well ‘fess up. Save yourself some time.”

Stiles sighed, throwing his cup into trash, and leaned back, his hands curled tight around the bench. Erica let the silence stretch between them, giving Stiles a chance to gather his thoughts.

“I always kinda had a thing for Derek. The whole bad boy rep, plus he’s insanely good at martial arts and kickboxing. So I always paid attention to him, but it was nothing real. Just, like, an eye candy, you know? I knew I had absolutely no chance with him. And then there’s Lydia, the absolute goddess on the Earth, the most flawless woman in existence. Uh, present company excluded,” Stiles hurried to add when he caught Erica’s expression. “Then at the beginning of the year he got me away from Jackson and fuck, that’s going to sound so cliché but I felt like maybe there could be something there? Jesus, that’s totally Disney Princess of me, isn’t it?”

Erica patted his shoulder and motioned for him to go on.

“And it turned out he had another side, you know, not just that moody sour face. And then he helped you and you guys started hanging out. It felt like I’d lost my chance. So yeah, I moped around, and then that idiot Simmons tried to beat you up and Derek was there and then the froyo and holy fuck, he’s actually bisexual? I thought I was totally imagining that.”

“Nope, he’s bisexual, alright.”

“How do you know?”

Erica shrugged, hooking her ankle over her knee.

“He told me.”

“So why didn’t you guys...?”

“Because we’re friends. And that’s more important to us.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Yeah. Okay, so you freaked out when you realised you might have a chance with Derek. And then he told you he likes you.”

Stiles’ mouth hung open as he stared at her. She reached her hand, tapping his chin gently.

“You know about that? He told you?”

“He was moping.”

Stiles furrowed his brows, his tongue sneaking to moisten his lips.

“Why was he moping?”

“Because he’s Derek, it’s what he does.”

“Right. Yeah, he told me he liked me and then he just stalked away. I wasn’t sure, I mean, I wasn’t sure what he meant? Like liked me or _liked_ me and he told Whittemore he was my boyfriend and I was under his protection and that pissed me off so bad. I kinda blew up at him and then he told me he cared because he liked me and stalked off. How is that normal? It’s not normal, Erica!”

Erica grinned at the agitation in Stiles’ voice. Her boys were so freaking clueless. But by the time she was done with them, they would name her the Maid of Honor and the godmother of their adorable adopted children in the future. She just had to get through their thick skulls first.

“Derek tends to run away from things. He hides and lurks, so it’s up to you to get him to face you.”

Stiles’ eyes bugged out, panic evident on his face.

“I can’t do that, I can’t! What if he rejects me — no, scratch that, he will reject me! I can’t do that, Erica, no, no, no. I’ll rather pine from distance, I’m a pro at that, seriously. It’s been working for me with Lydia since we were in third grade.”

“Man up, Stilinski. I’ll help you. Tomorrow during lunch, you are going to corner Derek and tell him you like him. Then, on Friday, you’re going to go with us to the rave.”

“Uh, not really a rave person—“

“I don’t give a flying fuck,” Erica said with a sweet smile. “You are going to be there and you are going to wear your tightest clothes. If Derek won’t bite tomorrow, then we are going to make him react on Friday.”

“I don’t think that’s a good plan—“

“I’m going to tell your dad about that time you and Scott broke into school with a bottle of Jack.”

Stiles flailed and pointed his finger at her accusingly.

“How do you even know about that?!”

Erica rolled her eyes, tugging Stiles up from the bench.

“I listened to what you and Scott talked.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” Stiles snarked.

“Only as creepy as you buying Lydia a birthday gift every year and leaving it at her doorstep. And what’s with the purple flowers you give her every year?”

Stiles cleared his throat, not looking at her.

“Uh, I’ll look for my skinny jeans.”

“Good boy.”

*

Derek was on his way out of English, scowling at his classmates as he shouldered past them to get to the cafeteria. He slowed down when he saw Stiles stand beside the door, obviously waiting for him. He looked jittery, tapping his leg against the wall, picking at the hangnail on his thumb, biting and licking his lips constantly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Derek! Nothing’s wrong, why would you say something’s wrong?”

Derek furrowed his brows, grabbed Stiles by his bicep and dragged him to the bathroom. He closed the door, kicking the door stop in to make sure no one would walk in on them. He took Stiles in carefully, checking for any signs of physical injury.

“Is Whittemore giving you troubles again?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s about what you said the other day,” Stiles stuttered, taking in a gulp of breath, his eyes running wildly across the bathroom before he squared his shoulders, his chin high and looked Derek in the eye. “About liking me.”

It was Derek’s turn to look anywhere but at Stiles, his posture stiffening, his face turned to the side. 

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

“But you do like me? Like, _like_ me like me?”

Derek said nothing, his hands curling into fists. This was not something he wanted to discuss with Stiles, ever. He knew Erica probably had something to do with Stiles seeking him out to confront him, if her remarks at lunch yesterday were anything to go by.

“Because I do, too. Like you, I mean. God I sound like a twelve year old girl but whatever. I like you and I think we should date.”

Derek turned slowly to face Stiles, taking in his expression. Stiles’ jaw was tight, his shoulders squared, his eyes unerringly on Derek. He was the picture of determination, self-assuredness. That picture was shattered when Stiles’ tongue sneaked out to lick at his lips, wetting them, his gaze suddenly dropping from Derek’s eyes to his cheek.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Stiles.”

“Why?”

Derek heaved a sigh, his hand scrubbing his face, the bathroom filled by the creaking of his leather jacket as he moved.

“Because I’m me and you’re you. You’re underage. I’m done with school this year, you still have a year left.”

“Are you going away to college?”

“No, I’m taking an apprenticeship with a carpenter — but that has nothing to do with it.”

“You’re staying in Beacon Hills and so am I. Sure, I will be in high school but so what? You’re just a year older than me, Derek. It’s not that much of an age difference.”

Derek shook his head.

“No, Stiles.”

Stiles’ voice cracked, “Please, Derek.”

“No.”

“So that’s it? You like me, I like you but for some stupid reason you don’t want to give it a try?”

“I’m not a nice guy, Stiles.”

“I’m aware of that. I was there when you beat up Simmons.”

“And you don’t think I did something wrong?”

Stiles shook his head vehemently, his hand tightening on the strap of his backpack.

“No. He was bullying Erica, he had it coming for a long time.”

“Stiles—“

“Listen, Derek, I’m not perfect either, okay? I have ADHD, I can’t stop talking for the life of me and I have absolutely no impulse control. I slashed Jackson’s tired and broke into the school once so I could check out the file of the girl Scott liked.”

Derek stared at Stiles, drinking him in. His eyes were changing colour, more golden now that he was agitated, his cheeks flushed with anger, that delicious mouth opening and closing, lips stretching as he formed words. He entranced Derek, stole his attention completely, leaving Derek at his mercy without even knowing it, without being aware of the power he held over Derek. Derek trusted Stiles, trusted him the way he hadn’t trusted anyone since the fire. 

“No,” he bit out and turned around, kicking the door stop with his shoe, wrenching the door open and leaving Stiles alone in the bathroom. 

He stalked towards the cafeteria, where he walked up to Erica and Isaac who were already seated at their usual table. He slammed his hands on the table in front of Erica and leaned in close, his voice soft.

“Don’t interfere, Erica.”

With that he turned around, sneaking out of the school, getting into his car and driving away. He wouldn’t be able to stay in school or concentrate on studying. He might as well go somewhere to relieve his pent up anger. He turned at the junction, heading towards the gym where he did his kickboxing. He had his bag in the trunk, and the gym would be empty at this hour. He would be able to get in a few good hours of training before anyone else showed up.

He got his bag out, went in, changed, left his things in his locker and went to train. He started with a warm up, jumping jacks, chin ups, sit ups and push ups, doing a set of twenty each in quick succession, running over the exercises three times before he caught a breath. 

He stood up, stretching his leg muscles before he started kicking the air, bringing his leg higher up with each kick until he could feel a burn in his muscles. He switched between his legs, making sure he didn’t favour one over the other. After a few minutes, he added jabs and punches to the routine, sucking the air in through his mouth, breathing out harshly through his nose. He moved towards the punching bag after grabbing some gloves and let his frustration and anger out. Each kick and jab cleared his mind, let him get back in control. Each movement brought him back to himself, let him stop thinking, concentrating only on the move he was in the middle of. 

He only stopped when the punching bag was jerked away from him, Jim, the owner of the gym looking at him sternly.

“That’s enough for today, kid. Go calm down, stretch out or you’ll cramp like a bitch tomorrow.”

Derek nodded, feeling sweat run down his forehead, stinging his eyes. He wiped his forehead with his arm futilely, only adding more moisture. He took off the gloves, hooking them in his waistband as he dropped down to the floor for a set of crunches. After that, he got up, stretching and massaging the muscles of his legs and arms.

He nodded at Jim and went to the locker room. He grabbed his bag, threw the gloves in and checked his phone. Sure enough there was a text from Erica waiting for him.

_i’m sorry. 4give me?_

Derek put his phone back in the bag, grabbed his toiletries and towels and went for a nice, long shower to soothe his muscles.

As he lathered up, he thought back to the way Stiles looked, so open and earnest, his heart out on his sleeve as he stood in front of Derek, taking a chance. Stiles was... Stiles. Derek shook his head. He knew Stiles would meet someone he liked better once he went off to college, someone who deserved him more, didn’t have the clusterfuck of issues Derek did.

It didn’t matter that the thought of Stiles with someone else than Derek made his stomach churn and his fists tighten.

It didn’t matter at all, he told himself.

*

Erica smiled sharply as she, Isaac and Derek entered the abandoned train depot at the outskirts of the town. It was full of people, the floor vibrating with the bass of the loud music at the rave. Bodies pressed together, and the air was hot and heavy with sweat and alcohol. Erica tugged on Derek’s hand, sure that Isaac would follow without prompting. She was positively giddy with anticipation and energy. It was the first time at a rave and she intended on making this experience memorable.

Derek scowled but let himself be led around. Erica stood on her tip-toes, looking around for Stiles. He had promised her he would make it to the rave after she had come up with several creative ways of threatening him through texts — most of which involved destroying his favourite hoodie — if her plan of snitching on him to his father didn’t work, and hinting that Derek would be there as well. 

She felt Isaac’s fingers press on her lower back, angling her opposite to where she was looking. She followed his lead and saw Stiles standing by one of the pillars, no plaid or hoodies in sight. He looked quite delectable in fitting jeans and a tight, black t-shirt that showed off his arms. She tugged on Derek’s hand and steered them towards Stiles.

“You made it!” 

Stiles startled at the sound of her voice, whipping his head to look at her. His eyes widened when he saw Derek stand behind her, undoubtedly wearing a thunderous expression. Stiles licked his lips and nodded.

“You didn’t really give me a choice.”

She grinned at that and let go of Derek’s hand. She turned to look at him and pointed towards the dancing area.

“I’m taking Stiles and Isaac and we’re dancing. You’re welcome to come along when you stop being broody!”

She grabbed Stiles’ hand before Derek could answer and dragged him towards the dancing bodies. She saw Isaac give Derek a salute, complete with a sarcastic quirk of his lips, before he followed them. 

She let go of Stiles’ hand, pressing close to him instead. She threw an arm around his shoulders, her hand curling around his head, her fingers cradling it softly as she pressed her breasts against his chest, her hips swaying from side to side. She closed her eyes — the lights were flickering too much, and she didn’t want to risk having a seizure now — and felt Isaac move behind her, his body plastered against her back, his hands on her hips, guiding their movement, hot and big and so there. She let her head fall on his shoulder, baring her neck. She felt Stiles’ hand move to rest on her waist, trembling and unsure and she smiled at it, cracking her eyes open lightly, winking at his dumbfounded expression.

One of Isaac’s hands left her hips, moving instead to curl around Stiles’ neck, bringing them even closer together. She opened her mouth to take a gulp of air, feeling Isaac’s cock press against her ass. With her hand on Stiles’ head, she pulled him close enough that his lips ghosted against the skin of her neck. She felt Stiles relax, letting his body move to the beat, following the guidance from herself and Isaac. She rolled her hips, chuckling when she felt Stiles gasp against her neck. Just because he was off limits for dating didn’t mean she couldn’t... tease him a bit.

She opened her eyes, looking to the side where she knew Derek was glowering at them. Sure enough she caught his gaze, making him scowl. She winked at him, nodding her head to indicate he should come over. He stayed rooted by the pillar, like the stubborn ass that he was.

Her eyes landed on Stiles and the hot look he gave her and Isaac, the way his mouth was open, his cheeks flushed. He looked positively sinful. She was tempted to lean forward and kiss him, claim his mouth with her teeth and tongue, chase down the taste of him. It was something she had thought about so many times before, when she spent countless days alone, with just her daydreams as her companions. She leaned forward, her lips brushing lightly against Stiles’ ear.

“You look extremely fuckable, Stiles.”

His hand on her waist tightened in response and she laughed. She felt Isaac trail his lips up the side of her neck and wound her other arm around his neck, bringing him closer. 

“Stop that or Derek will kill you,” Isaac said into her ear, his teeth grazing her earlobe.

She pressed more firmly against Isaac, putting more space between herself and Stiles. She let the music put her in trance, the  
beat flowing through her veins, making her thrum with joy and energy.

She didn’t know how long they danced, swaying close together, their hands moving over their bodies, hot and heavy, sliding against sweat slickened skin. Derek stayed by the pillar, his hands crossed on his chest, his gaze hot on them.

It wasn’t until a tall, blonde guy slid right up to Stiles, loping an arm around his waist, bringing him close to his chest that Erica saw Derek push off the pillar and make his way to them. Stiles looked surprised, his body tensed slightly but not moving away from the stranger. Before the blonde had a chance to put his mouth anywhere near Stiles’ neck, Derek was there, a tall, dangerous presence, his fingers closing around the guy’s wrist in a tight grip. The guy looked up at him with a scowl but backed off after one look at Derek. Stiles looked between them with a confused, pissed off expression and Erica felt Isaac’s chuckle against her back.

“Think they’ll finally get with the program?”

She shook her head as she watched the spectacle in front of her. The blonde left, Stiles and Derek were locked in their usual stare off. She watched as Stiles raised his chin, his arms squaring off before he shook his head and moved back to her and Isaac. He looked dejected, his jaw twitching and Erica’s hand reached out for him, grasping his shirt tightly, giving him what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Derek slide up to Stiles, his hands careful on Stiles’ sides, waiting for signs of rejection. Stiles tensed up, turning around to say something when he realised it was Derek. He sent him a bashful grin, his hands moving to cover Derek’s, pressing his palms more securely to Stiles’ sides. 

Maybe they were getting with the program, she though as she whirled around to face Isaac with a smile.

*

As soon as Derek had seen that blonde guy stalk his way up to Stiles, he’d known he would give in. Thinking about Stiles with someone else was different from actually seeing it, having to witness it without saying anything. With a growl, Derek pushed himself away from the pillar he was leaning against and made his way to where Stiles was dancing. He grabbed the guy’s wrist, a scowl firmly in place. He glared at the guy, tightening his grip, until the guy backed away. 

Stiles glared at him, his posture tight. Derek looked back at him steadily until Stiles huffed and moved around Derek to join Erica and Isaac again. Derek sighed, knowing he was fucking it up already. He slinked up to Stiles cautiously, unsure of his welcome. Stiles stiffened when he felt Derek’s hands on him and turned around. His expression changed dramatically, a bashful grin on his lips when he caught the sight of Derek. He turned around, plastering his back against Derek’s chest, pressing Derek’s hands more tightly to his sides.

Derek felt Stiles move his body against his, their hips sliding together, swaying from side to side to the beat of the music. Stiles gripped his hands tightly, their fingers tangled together, Stiles’ head tipped back against Derek’s shoulder, baring the pale, smooth expanse of Stiles’ neck. Derek’s mouth was open, his breath fanning Stiles’ ear as Derek stared at his neck, fighting with himself. 

With a groan he tipped his head down, his lips brushing against Stiles’ neck. He held himself stiffly, waiting for Stiles’ reaction, and sagged in relief when he felt Stiles shudder and hook his hand around Derek’s neck to bring him closer. Stiles tipped his head to the side, giving him more access.

Derek took the invitation for what it was. He skimmed his lips down Stiles’ neck, nipping lightly with his teeth and smirking when Stiles’ hips jerked against his. He bit down more firmly, soothing the sting with his tongue, lapping at the skin. He sucked at Stiles’ neck, drawing the blood to surface.

The idea of Stiles wearing his mark made his head spin, and his grip on Stiles’ hand and hip tightened. Stiles turned his face to the side, his lips brushing Derek’s ear, making him shudder. His mouth left Stiles’ neck, Derek straightened, looking at Stiles, tipping his head to the side in the direction of the exit. Stiles licked his lips, Derek’s eyes zeroing in on the movement and nodded. 

Derek looked to Isaac and Erica and met their smirks with a raised eyebrow. Erica winked at him and gave a little wave, pushing her body tighter against Isaac’s.

Derek grabbed Stiles’ hand, their fingers tangling and shouldered his way out of the depot. His ears felt weird once they were outside, as if he were underwater. He steered Stiles towards his Camaro, bringing the younger boy closer to him, throwing his arm around Stiles’ shoulder and pressing their sides together in a warm line. 

“Okay?”

Stiles nodded, biting his lip to keep in a smile. Derek rolled his eyes, opened the passenger door and pushed the seat as far as it could go. He sat down and smiled at Stiles toothily. He patted his lap at Stiles’ confused look, smirking when Stiles’ breath caught as he slipped inside the car and onto Derek’s lap. It took some manoeuvring, a few banged elbows and knees but they managed to sit comfortably.

Stiles let his hands rest on Derek’s shoulders, squeezing them periodically as his eyes roved over Derek’s face. Derek brought a hand up to the side of Stiles’ head, his thumb caressing Stiles’ cheekbone in wide swipes.

“This isn’t a one time deal, right? We’re doing this? Dancing together, getting jealous, making out, dating, the whole shebang?”

Derek hummed in his throat, his fingers trailing to run over the mark he left on Stiles’ neck. His lips parted, his breath coming in harsh pants.

“Yeah, we’re doing this.”

Stiles made a sound in his throat but before Derek had the chance to catalogue it, Stiles’ lips were on his and they were kissing. Stiles was greedy and enthusiastic, his mouth open so he could suck Derek’s lower lip in, nipping at it with his teeth. Derek’s hand slid to the back of Stiles’ head, cradling it, turning Stiles a bit so that they got a better angle. He licked Stiles’ lip, his tongue slipping into Stiles’ mouth, sliding over the roof of Stiles’ mouth, making him moan and arch into Derek, grinding down on Derek’s erection. 

Derek’s other hand grabbed Stiles by his hip, tightening roughly, making Stiles buck his hips again. Derek pressed up into the friction, his hand guiding Stiles’ hips into a quick, dirty pace of thrusting. His tongue slid against Stiles’, letting him catalogue what Stiles tasted like. He had wanted to know for so long, he thought with a groan. Stiles tasted like fries and whiskey. Derek chuckled, realising Stiles must have had a shot or two before he drove to the rave. Dutch courage, indeed.

Stiles pulled away, his lips plump and red, his hips still moving against Derek’s.

“What — why did you laugh?”

Derek buckled his hips roughly, making Stiles moan and tip his head back. He hit the roof of the car with a groan, ducking his head back so that his lips were a breath away from Derek’s.

“Never thought you’d be into underage drinking.”

Stiles scowled, his fingers digging into Derek’s shoulders.

“Told you I’m not perfect,” he replied breathlessly.

Derek kissed Stiles’ jaw, his lips trailing down until he could nip at Stiles’ neck again. He took the skin between his teeth and tongue, rolling it slowly, making Stiles moan at the pleasure-pain. Stiles’ arms moved to wrap around Derek’s head, cradling it to his neck tightly. Derek hummed against Stiles’ neck, laving it with his tongue, drawing abstract shapes. His hands moved down Stiles’ body, curling around his ass, squeezing roughly. Stiles’ hips stuttered, losing the rhythm they had going as he moaned loudly.

“More.”

Derek moaned at the demand in Stiles’ tone. He rutted up against Stiles, making Stiles grind down on him. He panted in Stiles’ neck, his breath hot and heavy. Stiles pressed his lips against Derek’s forehead, his hot breath fanning Derek’s face. Derek tipped his head up, catching Stiles’ lips in a crushing kiss, their teeth clacking together. He licked into Stiles’ mouth, sucking Stiles’ tongue. He felt Stiles’ blunt fingernails scratch at the back of his neck, making his eyes roll back in his head.

With a growl, he sped up the movement of their hips, giving two, three, four jerks before Stiles tore his mouth away and came with a sobbing moan. Derek squeezed Stiles’ ass, threw his head back and jerked his hips against Stiles helplessly as he chased his own orgasm. He was so close, he needed just one push—

Stiles bit down on the tendon of his neck and Derek came with a drawn out groan, creaming his pants.

Stiles sagged against Derek, both of them panting harshly. Derek moved his hands up and down Stiles’ back in a soothing motion. Stiles rested his head on Derek’s shoulder, his eyes fluttering closed as he hummed.

“That was awesome.”

Derek chuckled, one of his hands moving up to curl around the back of Stiles’ neck, his thumb caressing it softly as his other hand kept its motion across Stiles’ back. Derek turned his head to the side, pressing a soft kiss to Stiles’ forehead.

“Yeah, it was.”

“If this was so mind blowing, I can’t freaking wait to have sex with you. Jesus, you’ll literally blow my brain out through my dick. Not that I’m complaining, no, quite the opposite. Feel free to do that any time you feel like it, I’m totally at your disposition. Actually, give me your phone, I’ll give you my number since we’re dating and all. So you can call me up for a booty call because man, I’m totally up for that when it involves you.”

Derek laughed at that, his shoulders shaking with his mirth, dislodging Stiles’ head. Stiles raised his head, beaming at him, his smile wide and bright, his lips still red from their kisses. Derek narrowed his eyes, his hand moving, his finger tracing the shape of Stiles’ mouth. Stiles gulped, his mouth falling open as Derek’s finger caressed his lips. 

“I fantasised about your mouth,” Derek murmured, his full attention on Stiles.

“You — you did?”

Derek nodded.

“What did you fantasise about?” Stiles asked, licking his lips. The tip of his tongue caught Derek’s finger, making Derek suck in a sharp breath. He let it out with a moan, his hand dropping to Stiles’ hip.

“I thought about shutting you up by kissing you until your lips felt raw. I thought about your lips wrapped around my cock, your cheeks hollowed out as you sucked, your eyes closed in pleasure.”

Stiles’ hips jerked as he moaned, his eyes wide, glassy and bright. Derek leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of Stiles’ ear.

“But my favourite fantasy? Do you want to know, Stiles?”

Stiles nodded, swallowing loudly.

“I always came really hard when I imagined sucking your dick,” he drawled, nipping at Stiles’ ear.

He pulled back, memorising the expression on Stiles’ face. His mouth slack, his eyes bright, a blush on his cheeks. He looked like he was thoroughly fucked.

“Oh god, Derek,” he moaned. “You can’t say shit like that to me. Jesus, you’re going to give me a heart attack at seventeen. Fuck!”  
Stiles moved, adjusting himself in his pants. Derek smirked up at him.

“I’ve barely started.”

*

The day after the rave, Erica begged her dad for a ride to Derek’s the moment she woke up. Derek was tight-lipped about what had happened with Stiles last night and Stiles was gone by the time Erica and Isaac had coame back. The Camaro stank of sex, though, so she really hoped they worked things out. Unless Derek masturbated his frustration away. It was possible. It was Derek, after all.

She pulled on sweatpants and a hoodie, grabbed her phone and wallet and made her way downstairs where her dad sat at the kitchen table.

“Hey Daddy.”

“Morning, sunshine.”

She grabbed a Pop-Tart, tore it open and bit into it. Her dad eyed her with amusement over the paper.

“Could you give me a ride to Derek’s?”

“Didn’t you see him last night? At a party I wasn’t supposed to know about?”

Erica rolled her eyes and smiled. She let her hair fall over her face and looked up at her dad with a hopeful expression. Her dad huffed, putting the paper away, drinking the rest of his coffee in two gulps. It always worked.

“Fine, fine. Tell Derek and Isaac to come over for dinner sometime soon. I know you and Derek aren’t dating but I can still put the fear of God in Isaac. Your sister’s smitten with him.”

Erica laughed and finished her Pop-Tart. She quickly washed her hands and grabbed her things again.

“Sure, will do. I’m sure Isaac will be thrilled at the idea of being grilled because of my five year old sister.”

Her dad shrugged his shoulders, putting an arm around her as they made their way outside.

“I don’t know, seems women in our family start early. You had your first puppy love when you were four, remember? Tommy Dawson from across the street—“

Erica groaned, hiding her face in her hands. She got in the car, putting her seatbelt on.

“Please don’t remind me, Daddy. It was ages ago, I’ve obviously refined my tastes.”

Her dad laughed, pulling the car out of the driveway. Derek lived about fifteen minutes away, ten if he was the one driving.

“You haven’t had a seizure in nearly three months, right?”

Erica nodded, unsure where her father was going with this.

“I was thinking we could talk to your doctor about signing you up for driving lessons. What do you think ?”

She made a high pitched sound, throwing her arms around her dad, and pressing a kiss to his cheek. He grumbled at her, warning her to stop that before they were in an accident but his mouth was pulled up in a smile.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Daddy! That would be amazing, oh my god, I’ve wanted to learn how to drive for so long!  
Maybe Derek will let me drive the Camaro!”

“I wouldn’t count on that, sunshine. A man’s car is his temple.”

Erica rolled her eyes, the smile still on her face.

“Yeah, yeah, he totally would just so he wouldn’t have to hear me nag him all the time.”

They pulled up to Derek and Isaac’s and Erica got out of the car with a spring in her step. She poked her head back in the car, blew her dad a kiss and took off towards the house. She rang the doorbell, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Isaac was the one who opened the door, and his expression immediately shifting to an amused one when he saw her.

“Are you high on a sugar rush?”

“Shut up, pumpkin. I’m just happy! Is Derek up yet?” She shouldered her way inside the house.

Isaac followed her, shaking his head at her with a chuckle. 

“Not yet. You’re here to interrogate him about last night?

“You bet your sweet ass I am. And I’m going to get it out of him. Or if I fail to do that – which is unlikely – I will just go to Stiles for the gossip.”

“You will do no such thing,” she heard Derek say behind her.

He had clearly just woken up, a pillow crease still on his cheek, his hair sticking in different directions. She flounced up to him and hugged him tightly, resting her cheek against the fabric of his t-shirt. Derek looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, his arms moving around her to return the hug.

“What’s got you in such good mood?”

“My dad said he would sign me up for driving lessons soon,” she replied with a grin, letting go of Derek and taking a turn at hugging Isaac.

Isaac chuckled, his arms tight around her, and dropped his chin to rest on the top of her head.

“That’s awesome. And you want Derek to let you take the Camaro for a ride, right?”

Erica smiled implishly at Derek who was scowling.

“You know it’s happening, Derek. You’ll give in soon enough.”

Derek rolled his eyes, but he was smiling now.

“Get your licence first, we’ll talk then.”

“Sure. In the mean time we can talk about what happened between you and Stiles last night,” Erica batted her eyelashes at Derek.  
Derek sighed and gestured them into his room. Erica jumped on his bed, making herself comfortable. Isaac sat at Derek’s desk chair. Derek plopped down besides Erica, stretching out on the bed.

They sat in silence.

Erica groaned and poked Derek in the side insistently until he squirmed away.

“Talk or I’m going to harass Stiles.”

“We’re dating.”

Erica squealed and clapped, ignoring Derek’s exasperated eye roll and Isaac’s snickering.

“That’s brilliant! I’m so happy for you, you have no idea. You finally wised up!”

Derek had a small smile curling on his lips but otherwise stayed silent.

“The car smelled like sex,” Erica sing-sang, elbowing Derek, her eyebrows waggling suggestively.

“Please don’t do that, it makes you look like Greenberg,” Isaac cut in.

Derek laughed at that, a short bark of sound. Erica pouted at Isaac who gave her a smirk in return.

“Sooo did you guys fuck?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“We could smell it.”

Derek shrugged, a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Oh my god, you guys totally got lost in making out, didn’t you? Damn, that’s hot.”

Isaac laughed.

“You’re totally picturing Stiles and Derek making out, aren’t you?”

“Well, duh! I bet they look hot together. Say, Derek, if you guys were into exhibitionism—“

“We’re not,” Derek said in a deadpan.

“You can’t know that yet! It might not be your kink but I bet Stiles totally gets off on that. He looks like the type.”

Derek huffed at that, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Oh, and you would know a lot about that, would you?”

Erica shrugged her shoulders, moving to sit cross-legged on the bed.

“I might be a virgin but I read stuff that would make you blush.”

Isaac groaned, hiding his face in his palms.

“Please tell me you didn’t read _50 Shades of Gray_.”

“That was so vanilla,” Erica replied with a snort. “If you want good smut, internet’s the place to go. Man, Supernatural fandom is kinky as shit. Harry Potter isn’t any better, seriously. Some really disturbing but hot stuff there.”

Derek and Isaac looked at her without comprehension.

“What?”

“Fandom?”

“Oh my god, where do you live? Yeah, fandom. Like fans of stuff writing stories and things.”

“And you’re into that?”

Erica shrugged.

“Sure. It’s not as if I had any other way of getting porn, you know. My parents’ are insanely thorough when it comes to filtering websites. Fanfiction was the only way I could get my hands on something other than the GQ.”

Derek blinks at her.

“Right.”

“You’ll be thanking me and fanfiction when you’ll need help with gay sex. I’m basically an expert by now.”

“Now that’s scary,” Isaac said with awed voice.

Derek scowled at her.

“I’m not going to need your help.”

“Oh, because you’re so experienced with it?” Erica sneered back.

Derek opened his mouth to say something but closed it promptly, crossing his arms on his chest. Erica leaned back against his headboard with a raised eyebrow.

“Thought so. I’ll give you a freebie advice: lube. Lots and lots of lube and stretching. It will be easier on you both that way.”  
Erica looked at Isaac who sat there with a contemplative look on his face. He turned his head to the side, narrowed his eyes and pouted his lips a bit as he thought.

“How much lube are we talking here?”

“However much it takes. It’s important to take it slow the first time, make sure nothing gets damaged or pulled. I mean, most first times suck, especially for girls but still, it applies to straight sex, too. Lots of lube and preparation. Just because we’re teenagers doesn’t mean we have to go at it like teenagers. Oh, and condoms! Derek, I don’t care if you and Stiles are both virgins and each other’s one and onlys, you guys have to promise me to use condoms. I’ll even buy them for you if you’re squeamish. Just tell me the size,” she finished with a huge shit eating grin.

“I can buy my own condoms,” Derek said dryly. “If I can’t, I shouldn’t have sex anyway.”

“A good rule of thumb,” Isaac agreed.

“I can send you some links if you want. Purely for education purposes.”

Erica took Derek’s grunt and Isaac’s nod as consent. She always did.

*

Derek kicked Erica out, Isaac going with her under the guise of studying for their math test. He was pretty sure Isaac just wanted to learn more about that fanfiction thing Erica had told them about, though.

He went back to his room, packed his gym bag, grabbed his phone and headed out to the gym. He wasn’t scheduled for a training session today but he had some pent up energy that could do with blowing off. 

He checked his phone before he started the car. He had a message from Stiles.

_Want to hang out today? And by that I mean engage in tonsil hockey like last night?_

His fingers flew over the keys of his phone as he replied, a smile on his lips.

_Sure. I’m heading to the gym to train for a bit but I can see you later?_

His phone beeped less than a minute later, making him chuckle.

_Where’s your gym? I could wait for you there._

_Lexington St. See you there._

Derek drove to the gym, music blaring out of the speakers, his aviators perched on his nose. Life had been turning out pretty damn good lately. He parked behind the gym, grabbed his bag and made his way inside. He changed quickly, took his gloves and a towel and made his way to the gym. He nodded at Jim and a few of the regular guys with whom he trained. 

He started his warm up, going through it slowly, cherishing the burn in his muscles, the slightly quicker beat of his heart. Once he was ready, he looked around the gym, looking for someone to spar with.

“Smith, you wanna go for a round?”

Smith, a short guy with more upper body strength than Derek ever encountered, nodded at Derek, put on a padded helmet and gloved up. They climbed into the ring, circling one another slowly before Smith threw the first kick, landing wide. Derek grinned, moving quickly towards Smith, jabbing him in the side and ducking down to avoid colliding with Smith’s fist.

There was something exhilarating about kickboxing, something that drew Derek in. His foster parents signed him up for classes after he had been placed in their care and his court appointed shrink recommended it as an outlet for Derek’s aggression and grief. It had started off as something that Derek hated, but somewhere along the way, he had got to know Jim and Alan, the guy who taught the kickboxing class. It became easier for him to curb his anger throughout the day when he knew he would be able to leash out at the ring, giving into the frustration when he worked out. He used it all to fuel him, molding his body and mind at the same time, training them to become his.

He could feel sweat pour down his back, making his sleeveless tank top stick to his skin. He and Smith were pretty evenly matched, their sparring session quickly turning into messing around, tripping one another with a laugh. He let Smith haul him up when he noticed Stiles standing by the door, his eyes huge, his mouth open. 

Derek smirked at Stiles and shook Smith’s hand before getting out of the ring. He took off the helmet and his gloves, making his way to Stiles. He put a little swagger into his step, a smirk blossoming on his lips when he recognized the look Stiles gave him.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Stiles licked his lips, giving him a once over. “You uh, you done?”

“Why, you got any pressing plans?”

“Yeah, hoping you’re going to press me against the nearest flat surface ASAP.”

Derek laughed, moving to squeeze Stiles’ bicep quickly. He stepped back and nodded.

“I left the Camaro around the back. I’m gonna grab a shower, see you there?”

“Yep,” Stiles saluted him and turned around. 

Derek watched him walk away, noting the swell of Stiles’ ass. He rushed through his shower and grabbing his things, getting out in record time. Jim, the owner of the gym, gave him a hard stare as Derek was leaving.

“Kid.”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t care what you do in your own time but don’t even think of doing that twink in my gym. It ain’t a place for that.”

Derek stiffened, nodding his head in understanding and shouldered his way out. He gritted his teeth hard, relaxing when he saw Stiles waiting, slumped by his Jeep. He opened the Camaro without a word, threw his bag in and stalked his way to Stiles who opened his mouth to say something.

He pressed himself tightly against Stiles, stealing the breath out of his lungs, making him utter a soft “Oof,” as he impacted with the side of Jeep. Derek’s hands cupped Stiles’ face, his lips slotting against Stiles’ kissing him with all the frustration left over from his brief exchange with Jim. He would make out with Stiles wherever he wanted to, damn it.

Stiles moaned, wrapping his arms around Derek’s waist, pulling him even closer. They parted, Stiles’ eyes closed as he leaned his forehead against Derek’s.

“Um, hi.”

“Hi.”

“How was training?”

Derek slid his hand under Stiles’ T-shirt, sighing softly at the feel of skin. He leaned in, mouthing Stiles’ neck.

“Oooor we can skip the talking and move straight to making out. Yeah, okay, I’m so on board with that plan, yeah. But maybe we could — oooh, do that again — move this somewhere more private? Like a bedroom? Or a room. Or a kitchen, closet, cupboard, I don’t really care as long as I don’t have to worry about my dad catching us and can take off your shirt — fuck, Derek!”

Derek grinned into Stiles’ neck, soothing the bite with his lips. He pulled away reluctantly.

“My foster parents are volunteering all afternoon. And Isaac’s out with Erica.”

Stiles grinned.

“Perfect. Lead the way, I’ll follow you in my Jeep.”

*

Erica snickered at Isaac. He was totally entranced with that fic she had shown him, his eyes growing wider with every word, a slight blush crawling up his cheeks, his mouth unconsciously open a bit. She bit her lip thoughtfully.

Derek was had been her first kiss and that hadn’t really gone that so well. Isaac was cute, he had that whole puppy thing going for him and she loved running her hands through his hair. It wouldn’t hurt to make out with him, she thought. They both knew they wouldn’t want to date but a little friends–with-benefits thing might be good for them.

“Say, Isaac,” she said quietly.

Isaac looked up from her laptop guiltily.

“Oh god, sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore, this stuff is just so good.”

She smiled a bit, biting her lip again. She noticed his eyes followed the movement before he looked her in the eyes again.

“It’s fine, totally get it. I was wondering—“

“Yeah?”

“D’you wanna make out?”

Isaac froze, the deer in the headlights look overcoming his face. He blushed and stammered.

“I like you, Erica but uh, not sure if—“

“No, no, hear me out. I know we don’t wanna date each other. It’s just that — I kissed one person and it didn’t go well. And I want to kiss you. We could be make out buddies. Give it a try, you know?”

“I — yeah. Yeah, I’d like that. Just making out?”

Erica nodded her head, a shy smile spreading on her lips. She moved closer to Isaac, who put the laptop on her nightstand. She threw her leg over Isaac’s, straddling him. She shifted her weight, her thighs tensing with effort to keep herself from putting her whole weight on Isaac. He put his hands on her hips, pressing her to sit more comfortably.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to—“

“I’m heavy—“

“Please,” Isaac rolled his eyes. “It’s all kinds of hot, having a lapful of a hot girl who wants to make out with me. C’mon, lemme feel all manly man.”

She giggled, setting herself more firmly in Isaac’s lap. She leaned forward, her breasts pressing against Isaac’s chest, making her sigh softly. Isaac’s eyes roved over her face , making her breath catch. He looked at her as if she was beautiful, desirable. As if she was giving him a gift. She licked her lips nervously, his eyes following the movement.

“Okay?” Isaac murmured against her lips.

“Yeah.”

He closed the space between them, pressing his dry lips against hers lightly. She opened her lips lightly, moving to catch Isaac’s lower lip between hers. She tugged on it gently, flicking her tongue against it. Isaac moaned at that, his hands pressing her more tightly against him. Isaac opened his mouth wider, letting her tongue in. She took charge of the kiss, flicking her tongue against Isaac’s, licking at the insides of his cheeks. 

She moved her hand into Isaac’s hair, gripping it tightly and pulling a bit. She felt Isaac buck up into her and smiled against his lips. She pulled away from the kiss, looking at Isaac.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, c’mere,” he pulled her back, sliding his tongue in her mouth, copying what she did. She caught his tongue between her teeth, scraping it gently before she sucked on it. Isaac let out a whine, his hands moving from her hips to her ass, squeezing tightly. Erica moaned at the feeling grinding on Isaac.

Isaac pulled away, breathing harshly. He licked his lips, letting his head fall against Erica’s collarbone. She smiled at him, running her hands through his hair soothingly. 

“Sorry, I ah, I’d uh, have a situation if we didn’t stop. God, that’s embarrassing.”

Erica giggled, tugging Isaac’s hair to make him look at her.

“What you just said? That’s so hot. I never thought I could make a guy do that.”

“Are you joking? Erica, you’re sexy. You’ve always been beautiful but now, now you’re confident and that’s, Jesus,” Isaac caught her lips in a wet, open mouthed kiss. 

She closed her eyes, moaning into the kiss, her head spinning with his words. He thought she was beautiful, that she always had been beautiful. She squeezed her eyes against the tears she felt gathering under her lids and kissed him back fiercely.

She felt Isaac’s hand sneak up to cup her breast when her door flew open, banging against the wall, startling them. Emily ran in, jumped on Erica’s bed with a shriek.

“What are you doing?”

Erica and Isaac looked at one another before bursting out laughing. Erica moved from Isaac’s lap, passing him a pillow to cover his boner. She scooped Emily in her arms and tickled her.

“What did I tell you about knocking, you little monster?”

Emily’s shrill laughter filled the room.

*

Derek spent Thanksgiving with his foster parents and Isaac, stuffing himself on turkey. In the evening, he and Isaac made their way over to Erica’s, where Stiles joined them for an evening of board games. Derek wasn’t the biggest fan of them but he still managed to kick their asses at Monopoly. Stiles, of course, won each and every round of Clue. Derek noticed the way Erica’s dad kept eyeing Isaac and gave Erica a questioning look she dismissed with a hand wave.

They went back to school, only now it was Stiles who gave Erica a ride in the morning, since they lived close to one another. 

Stiles and Isaac were in detention, having incurred Harris’ wrath. Derek and Erica were hanging out by the Camaro, waiting for them to be done with their detention. Derek rounded on Erica, his eyebrows raised, his arms folded across his chest. Erica scowled at him.

“What?”

“What’s going on with you and Isaac?”

Erica rolled her eyes and blew a balloon out of her chewing gum. 

“Nothing.”

“Didn’t look like it.”

“We made out a few times. It’s nothing big. We’re not dating or anything. We’re just,” she shrugged. 

“You’re just making out?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, as long as you don’t have a falling out over that, I don’t care.”

Erica grinned, pinching his cheek.

“Awww, you’re such a sweetheart.”

It was Derek’s turn to roll his eyes at her. He leaned against the Camaro and took out a cigarette, lighting it. Erica wrinkled her nose at the smell.

“I thought you were going to quit?”

Derek shrugged his shoulders and took in a deep drag.

“Yeah.”

“Stiles won’t be happy.”

“Stiles worries too much.”

“He worries because he likes you.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Derek’s lips. He gave a put upon sigh and flicked the cigarette to the ground, squashing it with his shoe.

“There, better?”

“Much. Stiles won’t have to worry about your jizz tasting funny now,” Erica snarked.

Derek choked out a laugh, looking at her incredulously. 

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“But we haven’t—“

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Apparently he researched it. Nicotine makes sperm taste funny.”

“Right,” Derek muttered, dragging his hand through his hair.

So Stiles thought about—? Of course he did, Derek thought. Stiles was very thorough with his research, Derek had learned. And if the way he took to studying Derek’s chest, running his hands and mouth over it, was any indication, he definitely was dedicated to his pursuit of knowledge.

“You guys haven’t exchanged blow jobs yet?”

“I’m not talking with you about my sex life.”

“Are you sure about that? I can give you tips,” she teased.

Derek regarded her for a while and tsked. 

“Fine. But this stays between us.”

Erica clapped her hands.

“By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be the best cock-sucker in Beacon County!”

Derek hid his face in his palms, peeking at Erica through his fingers.

“No bananas,” he muttered.

She clapped him on the back.

“No bananas. Plenty of reading, though.”

*

Erica was sitting in the library, pouring over old newspapers for her history project when someone sat down across from her and cleared their throat.

She looked up, her eyebrows raised, an unimpressed mask on her face. The guy in front of her was tall and well built, his skin dark. He had the most mesmerising eyes she’d ever seen. He looked somewhat familiar, she thought.

“I’m Boyd.”

Boyd, Boyd... Oh.

“You’re in Derek’s class.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I help you?” She leaned back in her chair.

“Would you like to go to the winter formal with me?”

The question came out of nowhere, startling her. Her mask slipped, her eyes wide with surprise. Boyd cleared his throat.

“Uh, right, sorry—“

“No, no, it’s just, you surprised me. I mean, we’ve never talked before.”

Boyd shrugged.

“I’ve noticed you around. I mean, before you became friends with Derek.”

“Oh.”

“So... would you like to? Go with me, I mean?”

A small, pleased smile spread across her lips. She put a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

Boyd smiled, wide and happy. He reached for her notebook.

“Can I get your number?”

“Sure,” she scrawled her number on a page and tore it out, handing to him.

“Okay, I’ll call you about it tonight. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

With one last smile Boyd was gone. Erica looked around her, put her things in her bag and made her way to the Russian Literature stack, knowing no one ever went there. She put her hands across her closed lips as she smothered a squeal. She jumped around, her eyes closed in happiness. 

A guy noticed her! A cool guy like Boyd noticed her even before she got her make over. A cool, hot, _older_ guy liked her! And invited her to the winter formal!

She cleared her throat, straightened her clothes out and patted her hair back. She squared her shoulders, a smirk firmly on her lips, and made her way out of the library, heading towards the cafeteria. She still had about ten minutes before lunch started and she was due to meet with Derek, Stiles and Isaac. She stopped by a bathroom, fixed her make up in the mirror. She stared at her reflection, unable to stop the grin from spreading on her lips.

She grabbed whatever was available for lunch and made her way to their table. She sat down, nodding at Stiles and Isaac who stood in the line for food. Derek entered the cafeteria, making his way to her. She grinned at him, making him quirk an eyebrow at her.

“What’s got you in a good mood?”

“Boyd asked me to be his date to the winter formal.”

“Boyd? From my year?”

She nodded, her curls bouncing. 

“What about Isaac?”

Erica huffed.

“Told you it’s not like that.”

Derek hummed at that. Stiles sat beside him, squeezing Derek’s shoulder briefly. Derek smiled at Stiles, his smile wide and a bit predatory. Isaac plopped besides Erica, nudging her shoulder.

“Yo.”

“Yo,” she said with a chuckle.

“What’s up?”

“I’m going to the winter formal!”

“Oh, with whom?”

“Boyd, he’s from Derek’s class.”

She looked at Isaac from the corner of her eye. His brows were furrowed but he smiled when he noticed he watching.

“That’s cool,” he said, nudging her shoulder again.

“Yeah, I know. Can you believe? An older guy asked me out! And he said he noticed me before, too! I didn’t think that was possible.”

She picked at her salad, her cheeks aching from smiling so much. Stiles threw a napkin at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

“When’s the winter formal anyway?”

“The weekend before Christmas break.”

“Great,” Stiles moaned. “You’re going to talk about dresses and corsest and whatever for the next three weeks, aren’t you?”

She reached over to pat his hand.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Derek will ask you to prom. You can be a pretty princess then.”

Stiles snorted.

“Don’t be so heteronormative. I’m going to be a pretty _prince_ , thank you very much.”

Erica laughed loudly, making heads turn toward their table. She couldn’t wait for the dance.

*

A few days later, Derek and Isaac were at the lacrosse field before school, Isaac just lounging around, and Derek smoking a cigarette. He knew he’d promised Stiles he would quit and he would – just not now.

“Heads up,” Derek nodded towards Erica and Boyd who were coming up to them, holding hands. 

Derek kept an eye on Isaac, noting the changes in his body language as Erica and Boyd came closer and closer.

“Is that a cigarette in your hand, Derek Hale?” Erica yelled.

Derek smiled sardonically and waved at her with the hand in which he held the smoke.

“What’s up?”

Erica shrugged, standing close to Boyd.

“Nothing, just wanted to say hi.”

“Hi.”

She rolled her eyes.

“What’s up, Boyd?”

Boyd nodded at Isaac.

“The team misses you, man.”

Isaac kicked at the ground, sending bits of dried up grass flying.

“Eh, wasn’t any good anyway. Kept warming the bench.”

“Coach’s actually letting us play. Hell, he let Greenberg play in the last match.”

Isaac stared at him with an incredulous look.

“Greenberg? Are you shitting me?”

Boyd shook his head.

“Well, fuck. Maybe I quit too early,” he chewed his bottom lip. “Whatever.”

They stood chatting for a while, Derek and Boyd talking about their AP Bio class, Erica and Isaac moaning about Harris. The bell rang out, startling them. Derek took a deep drag from his cigarette and fixed Boyd with a hard stare. He let the air out, the smoke coiling around him in the cold, crisp morning.

“Boyd. You fuck her up, I fuck you up,” he said, flicking the butt of his cigarette away.

Boyd nodded at that, his face expressionless. Erica, on the other hand, looked like the cat who’d eaten the canary. She smiled a toothy grin at Derek, flounced to press a kiss to his cheek and moved back to take Boyd’s hand.

“Totally feeling the love, Derek. You’re the best!”

They walked away hand in hand. Derek turned to Isaac, his head nodding towards the retreating couple.

“You okay with that?”

Isaac pulled a small smile and shrugged.

“Yeah. Me and Erica weren’t like that.”

“Okay. If you say so.”

Isaac nodded.

“Yeah, I say so.”

“Just — you know I’m your friend. Not only hers, right?”

Isaac grinned, clapping Derek on the shoulder.

“Man, you’re a brother to me by now. C’mon, don’t wanna get a detention for being late.”

His classes flew by, which was unusual for Friday. Stiles, Erica and Isaac were already waiting for him outside by the time he got out. He walked up to Stiles, curling a hand around his hip and squeezing it in greeting.

“You guys wanna hang at mine? We could watch something?”

Erica shook her head.

“Sorry, mom’s taking me dress shopping.”

“Nah, I’ve gotta finish that Macbeth essay,” Isaac shrugged.

Derek took out his keys and threw them at Isaac, who caught them after fumbling a bit, clearly surprised.

“Take the Camaro and give Erica a lift home. I’ll be at Stiles’ if Ashley or Phil ask.”

Isaac smiled his huge smile, the one Erica always said felt like sunshine and puppies. He grabbed Erica’s hand and dragged her away, leaving Stiles and Derek alone.

“So,” Stiles wiggled his eyebrows. “You, me, free house, some stupid horror movie, a comfy couch... That sounds like a set up for making out, don’t you think?”

“Sometimes I think you want me just for my lips,” Derek said dryly.

Stiles scoffed as if Derek offended him. He gave Derek a once over, starting at his feet, ending at his hair.

“Please, I want you for your abs, get that straight.”

Derek rolled his eyes, pushing Stiles towards the driver’s side. He climbed into the passenger’s side, threw his bag in the back and waited for Stiles to start driving.

“Your dad won’t be home?”

“Nope,” Stiles threw him a dirty grin. “He won’t be home till eight.”

Derek put his hand on Stiles’ thigh, squeezing it. He’d read through all the stuff Erica sent him and had suffered through her quizzing him. It was ridiculous but it certainly helped him prepare for this. He was going to give Stiles a blow job tonight, he decided, shifting in his seat at the thought, feeling his own dick stir.

Stiles pulled up to the house and turned the car off. He grabbed Derek’s hand, tangling their fingers together, squeezing and let go.

“C’mon, we’ve got a movie to not watch and snacks to devour. I got us popcorn and Doritos and grapes, so we can say it was a balanced, healthy meal. Oh, and Twizzlers!”

Derek shouldered his bag and got out of the Jeep, slamming the door behind him. Stiles was talking a mile a minute as he walked up the porch stairs and opened the door. Derek swallowed, wiping his hands on his jeans. He was nervous, it was stupid. It wasn’t something to be nervous about. Plenty of people blew their boyfriends on a daily basis. He could do it.

He threw his bag by the shoe stand and toed his shoes off. He shrugged his leather jacket and draped it over the couch in living room. Stiles came back from the kitchen, his arms full of snacks and drinks. Derek stepped up to him, taking the drinks out of his hands, putting them on the table.

“Thanks, man. So, I’ve got _The Hills Have Eyes_ , _Friday the Thirteenth_ , _Slither_ and all the _Saws_. Whatchu wanna watch?”

Derek shrugged, plopping down on the couch.

“Doesn’t matter.”

Stiles grinned, popped the first DVD he grabbed into the player and slid on Derek’s lap, his hands curling around the back of Derek’s head.

“I like your dedication to movie watching.”

Derek leaned up, catching Stiles’ lips in a rough kiss, dragging his blunt nails up Stiles’ back. Stiles moaned, arching into Derek. He pulled away from Derek and took his shirt off, throwing it to the floor. 

Derek loved seeing Stiles shirtless. Miles of pale, soft skin and wiry muscle, all for his exploration. He mouthed at Stiles’ collarbone, sucking a mark on it, trailing his lips lower, flicking his tongue over Stiles’ nipple. Stiles’ hand in his hair tightened, pushing him more firmly against his chest. Derek twirled his tongue around the nipple, sucking at it lightly, scraping his teeth against it until Stiles was a writhing mess in his lap. He moved his other hand to flick the other nipple, squeezing and rolling it between his fingers.

Stiles yanked on his hair, making Derek look up. His cheeks were flushed, his mouth open wide as he panted heavily, his breath hitting Derek in the face.

“Off, off,” he picked the hem of Derek’s shirt and tugged it upwards. 

Derek took his t-shirt off, dropping it to the floor next to Stiles’. Stiles ran his hands down Derek’s sides, his palms sliding back up, palming Derek’s shoulder blades, leaving faint red scratch marks with his nails.

“God, you’re so ridiculously gorgeous. How are you even real,” Stiles whined against his mouth, his eyes roving over Derek’s  
body. “Jesus, I can’t believe you’re mine. I keep jerking off, thinking about you every morning and at night before bed. It doesn’t matter if we make out that day or not, I can’t stop picturing you, remembering the way you kiss me. God, I love it when you get close, you make the best sounds, Derek. Fuck, the things I want to do to you. The things I want you to do to me,” Stiles groaned, his hips grinding against Derek’s.

“Tell me,” Derek demanded, his hand squeezing Stiles’ neck, his other hand palming Stiles’ ass.

“Fuck – I want to rim you open. Eat you out until you’re begging me to fuck you, slick and open on my tongue, so ready for me.”  
Derek moaned loudly, his eyes rolling back in his skull. He gripped Stiles’ ass tighter, yanking him closer.

“I want you to blow me,” Stiles said, his voice catching.

Derek flipped them on the couch, Stiles on his back, Derek towering over him, tearing at Stiles’ zipper.

“Fuck yes,” he groaned, getting his hand inside Stiles’ boxers, gripping him tightly.

Stiles bucked up into him, his eyes closed, his mouth open wide around the moan that came out of his throat. Derek pawed at his jeans and boxers, shoving them down Stiles’ thighs. 

Stiles’ dick wasn’t as thick as Derek’s but it was longer, the head flushed red, pre-come already gathering at the tip. Derek leaned down, flicking his tongue over Stiles’ dick, tasting the pre-come. It wasn’t as bad as he expected, he though as he closed his mouth around the head and sucked.

Stiles’ hips rocked upwards, his dick sliding into Derek’s mouth, choking him briefly. He pulled away sputtering.

“Shit, sorry, Derek, oh my god, are you okay? Shit I didn’t mean to – “

“It’s fine, I just wasn’t prepared,” Derek said before he moved to mouth at the base of Stiles’ dick. 

Just in case, he threw an arm across Stiles’ hips, holding him down. He made sure to cover his teeth with his lips before he slid his mouth down Stiles, his tongue massaging the vein on the underside of Stiles’ cock. Stiles kept moaning, his fingers tight in Derek’s hair, trying to move his hips against Derek’s hold, jerking them slightly. 

Derek brought his other hand to wrap his fingers around Stiles’ dick, pumping what he couldn’t fit in his mouth. He sucked on his way up, Stiles’ going wild underneath him.

“Shit, Derek, fuck, your mouth, oh god, Jesus, oh my fuck, Derek, I’m gonna, I’m gonna come, oh god – “

Derek tongued the slit, slurping the pre-come when he felt Stiles tense and come in his mouth. Derek swallowed, his tongue lapping at Stiles before he pulled away. Stiles had an arm thrown over his face, panting roughly. Derek groaned at the sight, opening his jeans quickly, taking a hold of himself, pumping his dick furiously.

Stiles moved his arm, opening his mouth to say something, his voice catching at the sight in front of him. Derek’s eyes flitted over his body, taking in the marks he had left on Stiles’ skin, his nipples, and his twitching cock. Derek groaned, tightening his grip, moving his hand faster.

“Fuck, Derek, that’s so hot. C’mere,” Stiles pawed at his hips, moving on the couch so that he was closer, bending down, his fantastic, infuriating, mesmerising mouth a scant inch away from Derek’s dick. “C’mon, I wanna taste you, fuck, I wanted to do that for so long, please, please, please, c’mon.”

With a long moan, Derek came, splattering over Stiles’ face. The sight alone would make him come many times in the future, he thought deliriously, pumping his cock, his hips jerking as Stiles licked his lips, tasting him.

Derek crumpled, falling back against the couch. Stiles wiped the come off his face, his tongue flicking to clean his fingers, making Derek groan.

“You’re going to kill me.”

Stiles smirked, draping himself over Derek.

“Okay, that? That was fucking fantastic. Jesus, where did you learn that? No, don’t tell me, I would want to beat the shit out of those lucky guys.”

Derek cleared his throat, looking to the side.

“That was the first time I’ve ever done it.”

Stiles looked at him with wide eyes.

“You’re shitting me.”

“No.”

“Well, um, obviously I have nothing to compare it to but fuck, Derek, that was Jesus, that was hotter than porn. You’re a natural. My boyfriend is a natural at blow jobs, oh my god, I’m the luckiest sonofabitch alive.”

Derek rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the proud smile he had.

That was when they heard a car pull up the driveway.

“Shit!”

Stiles scrambled off the couch, jerkily tucking himself in and throwing his discarded t-shirt on. Derek zipped himself up, snatched the shirt and put it on. They sat on the couch, Stiles grabbing the remote and putting a drink in Derek’s hand just as the door opened.

“Stiles?”

“Hey dad,” Stiles’ voice broke a bit. “We’re in the living room!”

The Sheriff came in, his eyebrows rising at the sight in front of him. His mouth pulled in a tight frown, one of his hands resting on his hip besides his gun, the other lowered against his side. Stiles smiled brightly, all too widely and Derek smothered a groan behind his glass. 

“Hello, Derek.”

“Sheriff,” Derek nodded, unable to look the guy in the eye.

“What are you boys up to?”

“Just watching a movie! We have popcorn – you can have some, I made it without butter so yeah. Um, and I’ll start dinner soon. Weren’t you supposed to be back at eight?”

The Sheriff leaned against the doorframe, crossing this arms against his chest.

“I would believe that you’re _just watching a movie_ and not making out like the teenagers you are if the movie was actually on,” he clicked his tongue. “And not on the main menu.”

Stiles whipped towards the TV, groaning and sinking down in his seat.

“Your shirt’s on backwards, Stiles,” the Sheriff added lightly.

Derek was unable to look at Stiles, his eyes darting frantically against the room. Stiles hid his face in his hands.

“Uh, dad, meet my boyfriend, Derek. Derek, my dad,” he muttered, waving his hand between Derek and the Sheriff.

The Sheriff drew himself to his full height, his eyes zeroing in on Derek, who fidgeted in his seat. 

“So you’re the kid who’s got Stiles all crazy and loud at all times of night and morning.”

Derek felt himself flushing, risking a quick glance to Stiles, whose face was positively glowing red.

“Oh my god, _Dad_.”

“Just telling it like it is, son. I do remember being your age, you know.”

“No, I don’t know. It’s something I could have lived without knowing, thanks. It’s something that will cause me to have huge therapist bills in the future, oh my god, Dad!”

Derek cleared his throat, diverting the Sheriff’s attention back to him. 

“Yes, that’s me, sir. I mean, I’m Stiles’ boyfriend.”

“I’d better not see you at the station anymore in any capacity besides to visit Stiles, you got that, son? And no more threatening Jackson Whittemore. The kid’s father is a pain in my ass.”

“Of course, sir.”

“I came over to tell you I have to pull a double shift, so don’t expect me for dinner. And no, that’s not permission for Derek to stay over.”

“Sure, I mean, okay, understood, Dad, totally understood. I’ll leave your dinner in the microwave as usual. It’s steak tonight, aren’t you glad, big, fat, well done steak for my favourite father ever,” Stiles babbled.

The Sheriff raised his eyebrow, an amused smirk on his lips. He pointed a finger at the two of them sternly.

“I don’t want to come home and have this happen again. I don’t care you can’t get pregnant, if you have sex, use protection. And for Christ’s sake never let me know it’s happening.”

With one last serious look, the Sheriff left, closing the door behind him. Derek looked at Stiles who glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

“Well, that was awkward.”

*

Erica rested her head on her arms, her stomach cramping from laughing so much. Her mascara must have been running down her cheeks, smudging her makeup but she didn’t care. Every time she looked at Isaac and Boyd, she burst out laughing again, unable to stop. She didn’t even want to consider looking at Stiles or Derek, afraid she’d pee herself laughing.

“Oh my god, Stiles,” she said in between hiccups, “your dad is the best. I love him. I need to meet him, he’s totally my hero!”

Her laughter faded to chuckles and she raised her head, wiping a her eyes with the side of her hand. It came off black from the mascara but she really didn’t give a damn. She hadn’t laughed like that for a long time.

Derek was scowling at her, his arms slung over Stiles’ shoulders. They were in a cafe at the mall, having decided to meet up  
to hang out there. She’d gotten Boyd to buy a leather jacket since he was part of their gang, now that they were dating.

Boyd sent her an amused glance, squeezing her hand as she calmed down. She still chuckled from time to time, much to Derek’s annoyance.

“Why are we meeting anyway?”

“Because, grumpy, we need to get out Christmas shopping done. So you won’t bitch about having to do it last minute.”

Derek grimaced, nodding his head.

“I already have things for you and Isaac, so you are going to help me pick out something for Stiles and Boyd. Stiles, Boyd, you’re on your own for now,” she commandeered them, dropping a kiss to Boyd’s cheek as she tugged on Isaac’s arm, getting him out of the chair.

Derek followed them at a sedate pace until Erica stopped, waited for him to catch up and looped her arm through his, Isaac on her other side.

“So, we need to get Stiles a leather jacket for Christmas.”

“Do we,” Derek drawled.

“Yes, he’s dating you now, he needs to look the part.”

“I happen to like how Stiles looks.”

Erica awed, squeezing Derek’s arm.

“Of course you do, you’re dating him. I mean, he just needs to look like he belongs with us. In case you haven’t noticed, leather jackets are kinda our thing.”

She manoeuvred them to the shop she visited with Boyd earlier. She already had her eye on a nice leather jacket that she thought would look good on Stiles. 

“What did you get me?” Isaac asked, giving her his best puppy eyes.

“A lump of coal.”

“Har, har, no seriously, what did you get me?”

“You’ll see,” she grabbed the jacket and held it up for Derek’s inspection. “What do you think?”

Derek tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. He nodded after a while, making Erica grin at him. 

“We can give it to him as a gift from us three.”

“Why not from us four?” Derek asked.

“What?”

“Boyd? Why not from him too?”

Erica looked at him as if he was stupid.

“It’s you, me and Isaac, it’s how we started.”

“Yes, but you’re dating Boyd. He’s part of our pack now.”

“Are you implying he shouldn’t be?” Erica felt her hackles rise .

She really didn’t know what Derek’s problem was. He seemed fine with Boyd, joking with him and being generally easy going with the guy. But the moment Erica and Boyd were mentioned as a couple, Derek got that look on his face. She knew he wasn’t jealous, he was falling head over heels for Stiles and that was painfully obvious. It was as if he was fine with Erica and Boyd as separate people but together they made him uncomfortable.

Derek raised an eyebrow at her.

“Didn’t say that.”

“What is your problem with me and Boyd, Derek? You’re obviously fine with Boyd, you like the guy so what the hell?” She hissed, poking his chest with her finger.

Isaac slinked away, looking through shirts, distancing himself from the conflict between Erica and Derek. Derek scowled, leaning in.

“I just don’t think you two are good together, okay? I don’t want either of you getting hurt.”

“What are you talking about? Boyd’s treating me like a princess, hasn’t done anything I didn’t want! He’s being perfect!”

Derek sighed, shaking his head, backing away.

“Doesn’t matter, you’ll do what you want. I don’t want to lie to you, I don’t think you and Boyd should be together. But if it makes you happy then I’ll shut up.”

Erica clenched her jaw, nodding tersely, pushing the jacket into Derek’s hand. She dug out money from her pocket, enough to cover a third of the jacket and put them in Derek’s other hand. Without a word she turned around and left the store, ignoring Isaac who called after her. She needed to find Boyd.

She found Boyd and Stiles in a book store, Stiles perusing the shelves while Boyd milled around aimlessly. She made her way to him, her arms sneaking around his waist, hugging him from behind, her head resting on his shoulder blade. She felt his palms come to cover her hands as he pressed closer to her.

“All done with your shopping, babe?”

She nodded against his shoulder.

“Yeah, you?”

“I got your gift the other day.”

She grinned into his shirt, squeezing his waist. 

Boyd was the best boyfriend ever. Derek could suck it.

*

Derek groaned, reaching blindly for his ringing phone. He blinked blearily, answering once he saw it was Stiles who was calling him.

“Stiles?”

“Derek!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I was bored.”

Derek pulled the phone away from his ear to peer at it, noticing the time. He growled.

“Why were you bored at _two o’clock in the morning_? Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Can’t sleep,” Stiles muttered.

Derek plopped back on his bed, rubbing his eyes.

“What’s wrong, Stiles?”

“It’s the anniversary of my mom’s death.”

“Do you want me to come over?”

The words were out of his mouth before he could even consider them and he was already sitting up in his bed, his legs swung over the side.

“You’d do that?”

Stiles sounded so small, so unlike himself it made Derek’s stomach hurt.

“Yeah,” he grabbed his jeans, pulling them on. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Is your dad home?”

“He’s asleep.”

“Leave your window open.”

“What?”

“Leave your window open, Stiles. See you soon.”

He put the phone in his pocket, pulled on the first shirt he found and grabbed his leather jacket. He made his way to Isaac’s room, shaking him gently by the shoulder. Isaac startled, blinking up at him.

“Derek? What is it?”

“I’m going to Stiles’, it’s the anniversary of his mom’s death.”

Isaac nodded.

“I’ll be back in the morning to pick you up for school.”

“Alright,” Isaac murmured, going back to sleep.

Derek sped through the quiet streets of Beacon Hills. He pulled into Stiles’ driveway, parked behind the Jeep. He got out of his car, making his way to the side of the house where Stiles’ bedroom was located. He climbed up the tree, grabbed the gutter and pulled himself on the roof. He knocked on Stiles’ window and got in when Stiles opened it. 

“How Romeo and Juliet of you,” Stiles snarked, clearly uncomfortable with being so vulnerable in front of Derek. He was twisting the hem of his t-shirt, not looking Derek in the eye. Derek sighed, took his leather jacket off and threw it over Stiles’ chair. He moved up to Stiles, pulling him against his chest. He hooked his chin over Stiles’ shoulder, his arms tight around Stiles’ back. Stiles melted against him, hiding his face in Derek’s shoulder.

Derek moved them towards bed, pushing Stiles on it, following him quickly. He laid on his back, pulled Stiles on top of him, arranging him so that they were both comfortable. 

“You wanna talk about it?” 

Stiles shook his head. Derek grabbed the covers, pulling them over the both of them, settling his arms around Stiles, holding him tightly.

“Mind if I sleep?”

Stiles shook his head again and Derek reached to press a kiss to his forehead. He tilted his head to the side so the his chin rested on top of Stiles’ head and closed his eyes.

It felt like no time at all passed when Derek jerked awake at the sound of someone clearing their throat. He blinked up at the Sheriff, who was standing over Stiles’ bed with a scowl.

“What the hell?”

Derek glanced at Stiles who was still asleep. His shirt felt a bit damp where Stiles lay. He either cried when Derek was asleep or drooled. He turned back to the Sheriff, keeping his voice low.

“He called me at night, couldn’t sleep. Told me it was the anniversary of his mom’s death?”

The Sheriff deflated at that and Derek noticed how tired and ragged the man looked. He wiped at his face with his hand and nodded.

“Wake him up, breakfast’s ready,” with that he left.

Derek sighed, moving his hand to cup Stiles’ cheek, his thumb caressing the skin.

“Stiles.”

Stiles murmured, burrowing his face in Derek’s chest, his fist tightening its grip on Derek’s shirt.

“Stiles, wake up,” Derek whispered into his ear.

He moved his hand up and down Stiles’ back in a soothing motion. Stiles stirred, blinking sleepily at Derek.

“Hi.”

“Hey. Your dad says breakfast’s ready.”

Stiles startled, his head whipping to the door. Derek chuckled.

“He was in here already, told me to wake you up.”

“Shit, I’m gonna be in trouble.”

“Don’t think so, I explained what happened.”

Stiles groaned and let his head drop to Derek’s shoulder. Derek gripped his neck, nudging Stiles, angling his head for a kiss.

“Go brush your teeth, your breath reeks.”

“Gee, Derek, you’re such a romantic.”

Derek pushed Stiles off him, sitting up in the bed. Stiles pouted but swung his legs off the bed and got up, stretching, his shirt riding up his stomach, showing his treasure trail. Derek reached a hand, running his finger over the hair, making Stiles gasp. 

“I better go pick Isaac up for school.”

“See you before first period?”

“Yeah,” Derek hoisted himself up from the bed, stretching as well. 

He put on his leather jacket, making his way out of the room when Stiles caught his wrist, making him turn around.

“Thanks. For coming over and being here for me.”

Derek nodded.

“You’d do the same for me.”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Stiles! Derek!”

Stiles startled at his father’s yell.

“Coming, coming!”

He linked his fingers with Derek’s as they made their way downstairs. The Sheriff poked his head in from the kitchen.

“You staying for breakfast, Derek?”

“No, sir. I’ve got to pick up Isaac for school.”

“Alright. No more sleepovers without my knowledge.”

“Of course, sir.”

He squeezed Stiles’ hand, nodded at the Sheriff and left the house. He got into his car, took his phone out and texted Erica.

_Head’s up: it’s the anniversary of Stiles’ mom’s death._

He pulled out of the driveway and drove towards his house. His phone vibrated just when he stopped the Camaro in front of the house. 

_i know, he told me. C u at school._

Derek’s stomach grumbled loudly. He hoped Isaac left him some scrambled eggs.

*

Erica twisted in front of the mirror, her mother standing behind her, arranging her hair in an up-do. She took in a few deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. 

“You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Daddy,” she caught her father’s eyes in the mirror and smiled at him.

Her mom talked her into a jade green dress that hugged her curves and ended a few inches before the knee. It was elegant and classy — not exactly the style Erica went for every day. It was a nice change. It made her feel sophisticated as she admired herself in the mirror.

“Boyd should be here soon, right?”

“Yeah, he’s picking me up in his truck.”

Her mom grabbed a can of hairspray and stepped back, instructing Erica to close her eyes before she sprayed it all over Erica’s hair.

Emily coughed, her nose wrinkling at the smell.

“It smells!”

Erica opened her eyes, turned on her seat and tickled Emily.

“I know, but it will help my hair stay this way.”

“You look pretty. You always look pretty but now you look extra pretty! Like a princess!”

She grinned at her little sister, taking her into her arms. She got up, set Emily on her hip.

“One day you’ll be going to the winter formal, too. You’re going to be the prettiest girl there.”

The sound of a camera snapping a picture made her turn her head towards her parents. Her mother was standing by her father, a huge smile on her face. Her dad lowered the camera from his face with a nod.

“C’mon, let’s get some pictures with the family before Boyd gets here.”

She posed for pictures with her mom and sister, then with her dad and sister. Her dad set the camera on an automatic setting, running up to join the family in one take. 

Soon enough the doorbell rang and Erica felt her nerves raise up a notch. Her dad opened the door, letting Boyd in, shaking his hand in greeting. 

“You look amazing.”

Erica blushed, gratified by the awe in Boyd’s expression. She cocked her hip and pulled a smirk.

“I always look amazing.”

Boyd laughed, coming to kiss her on the cheek.

“That’s true. You look beautiful. I’m going to be the luckiest guy there with you on my arm.”

Erica’s mom clapped her hands.

“Oooh, aren’t you a charmer! This one’s a keeper, honey.”

Erica blushed, rolling her eyes. Se slid her arm around Boyd’s waist.

“Let’s take some pictures, then we can go.”

They posed for a few pictures, Boyd gave her a corsage and they were off. The school parking was full by the time they arrived which meant they had to walk a bit before getting to the sports hall. Boyd took her hand, squeezing it gently and warming it in the cold.

“Thank you for inviting me.”

He smiled, his teeth a white flash.

“Thank you for accepting.”

She laughed at that. 

“We’re going to have an awesome night, aren’t we?”

“Hell yeah!”

Erica was having the night of her life. She danced until her feet hurt, Boyd making her laugh as he twirled her along the floor, dipping her low. They snuck out of the hall and made out behind the bleachers, Boyd’s jacket over her shoulders to keep her warm, his hands warming her back. 

At the end of the night he drove her back home and walked her to the door.

“I had a really good time, V. Thank you.”

He smiled at her and she felt like melting. That smile, so small, always made her feel like she was privy to a part of Boyd that not many people saw.

“I did too. Do you want to go catch a movie tomorrow?”

“I’d love to,” she murmured, grabbing the lapels of his jacket and brining him closer for a kiss. She sighed into it, her arm twining around his neck. Boyd broke the kiss, nudging his nose against hers before pressing a kiss to the corner of her lips.

“See you tomorrow, beautiful.”

She bit her lip to stop the smile and turned around, getting inside the house. She waved at him from the window as he left and ran up the stairs, barging into her room and throwing herself on her bed, pressing her face into her pillow to silence the happy scream.

Best. Night. Ever.

*

Derek rolled his eyes at Erica as she threw a bit of wrapping paper at Isaac’s head. She was seated in Boyd’s lap on Derek’s couch. Isaac sat in the armchair, his tongue stuck out at Erica. They were waiting for Stiles and Scott to come over so they could exchange Christmas gifts.

“Shit.”

Erica turned to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have anything for Scott. I mean, we’re exchanging gifts – that’ll be awkward, right?”

Erica chuckled and moved to pinch at his cheeks.

“Aw, so cute! You’re worrying what your boyfriend’s BFF will think about you?”

“Shut up,” he growled.

“Don’t worry, I got you covered. Got Scott a gift card to Game Stop from all of us since we don’t really know him.”

Derek blinked at that.

“Huh. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. I knew you’d forget and freak out later.”

“I didn’t freak out.”

“You kinda did,” Boyd piped in, smiling apologetically over Erica’s shoulder.

Derek was saved from replying by the bell. He got up, scowling at the trio in the living room who laughed at his eagerness.

“Shut up, I haven’t seen him in days!”

He ran his hands through his hair before he reached the door and pulled it open. Stiles threw himself at Derek the moment the door opened, wrapping him up in a hug, planting his lips on Derek’s. Derek’s hand instinctively went around Stiles’ waist, holding him up as he kissed him back. He sighed into the kiss, opening his mouth and tasting Stiles. It had been too long since he’d last done this. He’d wanted to give Stiles some time with Scott, but talking on the phone wasn’t the same.

“Come on in, don’t mind them,” he heard Isaac say to someone.

Oh, right, Scott.

Derek pulled away from the kiss, resting his forehead against Stiles’ breathing heavily.

“Hey,” he murmured.

“Hey you,” Stiles grinned back, moving in for another kiss.

“Stop making out, I wanna see my gifts!”

Derek rolled his eyes at Erica’s yell. He waited as Stiles took off his jacket and took his hand, slotting their fingers together.

“Shall we?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see what you got me,” Stiles grinned, pulling him into the living room.

Scott sat on the couch beside Erica, who was still in Boyd’s lap. Isaac sat beside him, rummaging through the bag of gifts Scott had brought in. Derek cleared his throat and stuck his hand out.

“Hey, I’m Derek.”

Scott shook his head and grinned up at him.

“Yeah, the way Stiles attacked you when he saw you kinda tipped me off. He couldn’t shut up about you the past four days.”  
Stiles groaned and glared at Scott.

“Shut up, I've had to hear you wax poetics about Allison since August. You can do with a taste of your own medicine.”

Scott laughed at that, shrugging his shoulders.

“She’s great, man.”

Stiles waved his hand.

“Yeah, yeah, Allison is a goddess who showed herself to you when you were being a lonely loser at Garcia’s Bend, then it turned out her mom has a shop near your apartment and Allison goes to the same school, it was meant to be and her hair smells like strawberries.”

Derek chuckled and sat down in the chair that Isaac had vacated. He pulled Stiles down in his lap, his arms circling Stiles’ waist.

“Yeah and you told me Derek smells like cinnamon and the way he scrunches his nose when he laughs is adorable, so there.”

Stiles turned to look at Derek, shaking his head vehemently.

“I said no such thing, don’t listen to him,” he turned back to Scott. “Bad Scott!”

Erica grinned at them, poking Scott in the side.

“Aw, you’re cute! How long are you and Allison together?”

“Four months now,” Scott replied with a smitten grin.

Stiles pretended to throw up.

“If I ever get that bad, please shoot me.”

“Too late for that,” Isaac said with an innocent expression.

Stiles glared at him and Derek chuckled, muffling his laughter in the back of Stiles’ shirt.

“We have some presents to open?”

“Yeah, we do! Scott, do the honors?”

Scott grabbed the bag out of Isaac’s hands and started taking out gifts, handing them to their recipients. Derek tore into his once he had it in his hands. Stiles turned in his lap, his lower lip caught between his teeth as he waited for Derek to open his gift. It was quite big and chunky; Derek had to put it in Stiles’ lap as he unwrapped it.

He swallowed as he looked at it. Six picture frames stuck together in a mish-mash shape, each frame filled with a picture. Pictures of Derek with Erica, with Isaac, with Stiles, with Phil and Ashley. In the centre there was a picture of Derek with his arm around Stiles, Erica under his other arm, her hand swung around Isaac’s waist. They were smiling as they looked at the camera, and Derek suddenly remembered Erica’s dad taking that picture during Thanksgiving evening when they had been at the Reyes’ for board game night. He blinked rapidly and closed his eyes.

Stiles’ hand moved to cup the back of his neck and he glanced up at his boyfriend with a small smile.

“Thank you.”

Stiles’ hand squeezed his neck as he leaned in to whisper in Derek’s ear,

“Just so you remember that you have a family again.”

He pulled away and pressed a kiss to Derek’s cheek. Derek tightened his arms around Stiles, resting his head against Stiles’ shoulder as he watched the rest of the group open their gifts. Erica grinned at Stiles over her new copy of a comic she had been coveting for a while now. Boyd nodded his thanks at Stiles as he looked over his new Swiss Army Knife. Isaac laughed at the t-shirt Stiles gave him.

Erica jumped up from Boyd’s lap and grabbed an envelope and a package before handing them to Scott and Stiles respectively. Scott looked surprised at that.

“You didn’t have to—“

“It’s from all of us. C’mon, open it,” Erica goaded as she handed gifts to Isaac and Derek. 

She sat back down in Boyd’s lap, giving him a small package with a huge smile. Derek watched as Scott opened the envelope and smiled widely at the gift certificate.

“Awesome! Thanks, guys, that’s really cool of you!”

Stiles grinned and opened his package, tearing the paper apart with his fingernails. 

“Aw, yes!” He fist pumped as he took out the leather jacket.

He immediately put it on, nearly giving Derek a shiner in the process and pulled it tightly around himself.

“Now I’m a certified badass.”

“You’re part of the gang, so Derek, Isaac and I thought you should get a leather jacket,” Erica explained with a wink.

“Thanks, guys,” Stiles nodded at them with a smile. 

He turned around to give Derek a soft kiss. 

“I actually have your gift upstairs,” Derek murmured against his lips.

Stiles gasped in mock outrage, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Derek Hale! Are you propositioning me in front of our friends? If so, it’s totally working, carry on.”

Derek snorted a laugh into Stiles’ shoulder and shook his head.

“No, you idiot. I can go and get it—“

“I’ll go with you,” Stiles said, waggling his eyebrows as he got up from Derek’s lap.

“Where are you guys going?”

“We’re going to make out because Derek can’t keep his hands off me,” Stiles replied with a shit eating grin.

Derek rolled his eyes but didn’t correct him.

“I’m sure you guys will survive without us.”

“Go, before we see more than we ever want,” Isaac snarked.

“I could stand to see a bit,” Erica said hopefully.

Derek snorted and tugged Stiles upstairs and into his room. He closed the door behind them, backing Stiles up against it, crowding him in. Stiles clenched his hands in Derek’s Henley, grinning at him.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Derek smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Stiles opened up to him instantly, his mouth hot and greedy as he sucked on Derek’s tongue. Derek ran his hands down Stiles’ sides, liking the way the leather of Stiles’ jacket felt against his hands. He pulled away, mouthing the line of Stiles’ jaw.

“I wasn’t lying about the gift.”

“You mean this isn’t it?”

Stiles moaned, exposing his throat to Derek who happily moved in to kiss at the expanse of skin in front of him, sucking little marks onto it.

“Yep.”

“Gimme,” Stiles whined, pushing at Derek’s shoulder.

Derek pulled away with a chuckle, grabbing Stiles’ hand and leading him to sit on his bed. Stiles looked up at him with an eager expression, his eyes wide and bright. Derek reached around him to his nightstand, opening it and taking something out. He closed his palm around it before lifting Stiles’ hand, palm up, and dropping the item in it.

Stiles’ brow furrowed as he pulled his hand closer, looking at his hand.

“A key—?”

“To my car.”

Stiles’ mouth was open in shock.

“You’re giving me a key to your Camaro.”

“Yeah.”

“The same Camaro that was Laura’s? The same Camaro you’re more protective of than me and Erica combined?”

Derek nodded, licking his lips and looking away.

“I — yeah. I trust you with her.”

Stiles launched himself off the bed, nearly knocking Derek over in the process, his arms tight around Derek’s neck. Derek returned the embrace, hiding his face in Stiles’ neck, taking in a deep breath.

“Fuck, I kinda love you.”

He felt Stiles stiffen in his arms when he registered what he had said. Derek tightened his arms around Stiles.

“I kinda love you, too,” he said against Stiles’ neck.

Stiles positively melted in his embrace before he pulled away to look at Derek. His hand moved to rest at the side of Derek’s face as he kissed Derek, slow and sweet, like he wanted nothing else but to keep on kissing Derek until the end of days. Derek’s hands curled in Stiles’ shirt, his eyes closed tightly.

Stiles pulled away, resting his forehead against Derek’s. Derek licked his lips, his breath ghosting along Stiles’ mouth.

Stiles looked at him as if he was the most important person to him and it made Derek’s breath catch in his throat.

“I want nothing more than to make out with you right now but I promised Scott I wouldn’t disappear for too long.”

Derek scrunched up his nose, making Stiles laugh.

“I don’t like Scott very much right now.”

“I’m sure the feeling is mutual. C’mon,” Stiles tugged his hand.

They made their way downstairs where they were met by Erica’s critical stare.

“They didn’t have sex,” she reached her hand toward Scott. “Pay up.”

Scott sighed and took out a ten dollar bill from his pocket, placing it in Erica’s hand. Stiles sputtered, pointing at Scott accusingly.

“You bet _against_ me?”

“I bet you got some,” Scott said with a puppy expression.

Stiles huffed, crossing his arms as he scowled at Scott. Derek pulled Stiles into his lap again, his hand sneaking to rest under Stiles’ shirt, his fingers caressing the skin in a soothing motion. Stiles leaned against him, his hand moving to cover Derek’s hand on his thigh.

“There’s a New Year’s Eve party that we should go to,” Erica piped in from Boyd’s lap. “There will be booze and music and dancing, it’ll be fun.”

Derek sighed.

“It doesn’t matter what we say, does it?”

“Nope,” Erica popped the ‘p’ with a smile.

Derek looked to Scott who sat there with a lost expression.

“The sooner you get used to her,” he nodded towards Erica, “the better for your sanity. Trust me on that.”

Erica smiled at him sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

“Right, whose party is it?”

“Becky Roberts,” Erica replied.

“Uh, don’t think I know her?”

Erica patted Scott’s shoulder consolingly.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to know her to go to her party. She’s like Lydia Martin only there’s way more alcohol and less posers.”

“Sounds good,” Scott replied with a shrug.

They agreed to meet up at the party at nine. Derek grudgingly agreed to provide them with alcohol, thanks to his fake ID. He just hoped the Sheriff wouldn’t catch him.

The next few days seemed to go by in a blink of an eye. Derek found himself in the Camaro, Isaac seated beside him, a bag filled with bottles of alcohol sitting on the floor behind Derek’s seat just in case. Isaac was bopping his head in time with music and Derek smiled at the sight.

“Stiles and Scott are already there,” Isaac said after he read a text. “Erica and Boyd will be there in ten.”

Derek pulled up a few blocks away from the party. He passed the bag to Isaac and closed his car. They walked over to where Stiles and Scott were parked. They were standing by the side of the Jeep, deep in conversation about something. Scott nodded at them as they walked up, Derek winding his arms around Stiles’ waist, pulling him back into his chest.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“Batman.”

Isaac made an amused face, grinning quickly at Derek over Stiles’ shoulder.

“I always thought Wolverine would kick the shit out of Batman.”

Derek hid his laughter in Stiles’ shoulder as Stiles started gesticulating wildly, arguing his point and telling Isaac exactly why he was wrong in excruciating detail. Erica and Boyd pulled up, Boyd parking his truck as Erica tucked her hands in Isaac’s coat pockets, whining about forgetting her gloves.

“Ready to hit the party?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Stiles pulled Derek along. 

Boyd reached out a hand to Erica, sparing a quick glance to Isaac when Erica wasn’t looking. Derek caught it, his brows furrowing momentarily. Isaac fell back in step with Scott, their conversation flowing easily. They went inside the house, leaving their jackets on as they made their way to the backyard, where the music was already amped up, a steady beat pouring out. Isaac grabbed a bottle of whiskey out of the bag, cracking it open and taking a swig before passing it around. Scott took it next, taking a big gulp and sputtering as it burned down his throat. Stiles laughed at him before taking his turn, not even pulling the slightest face at the taste. Derek raised an eyebrow and shook his head, passing the bottle on. Someone had to be the designated driver.

Erica glanced at the bottle, biting her lip before taking a small sip, grimacing at the taste and passing the bottle to Boyd who shook his head as well.

“We’re the DDs tonight, right?”

Boyd nodded at Derek and passed the bottle to Isaac. He put an arm around Erica and leaned in.

“You sure you’ll be okay, babe?

“Yeah, I just wanted a taste. Don’t wanna start my new year with a seizure,” she replied with a grimace.

Isaac nodded and took another swig. Derek sighed. He’d bought two bottles of whiskey and a bottle of vodka and it seemed that Isaac, Scott and Stiles would be the only ones drinking. He wasn’t sure what their alcohol tolerance was, so he resigned himself to a night of looking after them.

“You and Scott are coming back to ours afterwards, yeah?”  
Stiles nodded, pressing closer to Derek.

“Yeah, Dad’s pulling a double tonight so he said it’s okay to stay with you. Gave me the safe sex talk again.”

Scott laughed at that.

“Man, it was epic.”

“Shut up or I’ll tell your mom she needs to give you the STD talk again.”

Scott paled at that, shaking his head energetically.

“No, I’m fine, I’m fine. Those pamphlets were scary, dude.”

Erica and Boyd drifted off to join the dancing crowd. Derek stayed with Isaac, Scott and Stiles, watching with increasing amusement as his boyfriend got more and more drunk. He stealthily grabbed the vodka bottle out of the bag and gave it to the first passing person who just looked at him in surprise and clapped him on the arm with a hearty, “Thanks, man!”

Derek let Stiles pull him to the makeshift dance floor, rocking from side to side, his hands steadying Stiles when he leaned to the side too much. He giggled, his breath warm against the skin of Derek’s neck. He wasn’t sure how long they danced, but eventually Erica found them and brought them back to their corner where Isaac, Scott and Boyd were waiting. They stood around, chatting and laughing as the time went by. Stiles shook his head when Isaac opened the second bottle of whiskey and the passed it to Scott with a shrug. Derek raised his eyebrows at Stiles.

“Don’t wanna be hungover tomorrow. And I wanna be sober to kiss you at midnight,” Stiles explained, pointing his finger slightly to the side of Derek’s face.

Derek rolled his eyes and grabbed Stiles’ finger in his hand, moving his hands briskly over Stiles’ palms to warm them up. Stiles looked at their joined hands with concentration, a frown on his face as he tried to keep steady.

“Maybe you should eat something?”

“Oooh, good idea, let’s find the kitchen!”

They grabbed a few slices of pizza, eating it over the cardboard box, uncaring of the glares of people in the kitchen. Stiles moaned around a slice of pepperoni and closed his eyes.

“This shit is good. We should bring some for the rest of the guys.”

Derek grabbed four more slices, stacking them on top of each other, his other hand grabbing Stiles who managed to snag two more pizza slices before they left the kitchen. Derek passed the slices to Erica, Boyd, Isaac and Scott before snagging one from Stiles with a smirk.

“Not fair,” Stiles whined, chasing the slice all the way to Derek’s mouth.

“Seriously?” Boyd exclaimed exasperatedly.

Derek grinned at him and gave Stiles the rest of the pizza. Erica laughed, waited until Stiles finished eating and grabbed him by the hand.

“I’m borrowing your boyfriend to get down and dirty with him on the dance floor!”

“Oh, we need Isaac,” Stiles added. “So we can dance like at the rave!”

Erica grabbed Isaac who had barely any time to pass the nearly empty bottle of whiskey to Scott before he was whisked away. Derek shook his head, sharing a long suffering look with Boyd.

“So, now that we’re alone – well, kinda – I gotta warn you not to break Stiles’ heart, you hear me? Or I will make you regret ever looking at him,” Scott said seriously, pointing a finger at him.

Derek didn’t doubt him, even though the way Scott swayed on his feet was quite amusing. He nodded and took the bottle out of Scott’s hands.

“Okay. Don’t you think you’ve had enough?”

Scott furrowed his brows.

“Yeah, I think I did. Uh, thanks man. You’re not too bad, I guess.”

Derek snorted and directed Scott to sit down in a chair.

“Why don’t you call Allison, Scott?”

Scott lighted up at the mention of his girlfriend, pawing at his phone.

“Awesome idea, you’re a cool guy, Derek!”

Derek shook his head and turned to Boyd. He followed Boyd’s gaze to where Erica was dancing with Isaac and Stiles, sandwiched between them, Isaac pressed in front of her, Stiles behind her. She was laughing, one hand thrown over Isaac’s shoulder, the other curled around Stiles’ neck. Stiles had his hands on her sides, clearly tickling her as she tried to get away, but was unable to because Isaac was boxing her in with a laugh.

“They’re good friends,” Derek said quietly.

Boyd nodded.

“I can see that. I’m glad she has them.”

They stood in silence until the trio came back, Erica hanging off their arms, the three of them swaying and bumping into people. Boyd immediately moved to steady them as Erica draped herself over his chest. Derek let Stiles hide his face in his chest as he steadied Isaac with a hand to his arm.

“You okay, Isaac?”

“I’m fantastic! I wanna dance! Who wants to dance?”

“Not me,” Derek said, shaking his head. 

Isaac spotted Scott and moved in with a grin.

“Scott, dance with me! C’mon!”

Scott laughed, getting up from his chair, his phone by his ear.

“I love you too, Allison. Yeah, Isaac wants me to dance with him, I totally will! I’ll call you at midnight, okay?”

He hung up and pocketed his phone, clapping Isaac on the shoulder.

“C’mon, man, let’s get our boogie on!”

“Aw, look at that, my pretty boy is all grown up and outgoing,” Erica wiped away a mock tear.

“How long till midnight?” Stiles mumbled into his chest.

Derek reached to check his phone.

“Less than an hour.”

“This is going to be such an awesome year, I just know it.”

Derek tightened his arms around Stiles.

“Yeah, it is.”

Eventually Derek let Stiles and Isaac rope him into dancing, his body swaying close to Stiles’, who was looking more and more sober with each minute. He crowded in closer to Derek, twining his hands behind Derek’s neck and leaning in for a kiss.  
Derek’s phone vibrated five minutes before midnight, his foster parents texting him to wish him happy new year. He guided Stiles off the dance floor and made sure they all were together.

“Three minutes left.”

“I’m so ready,” Erica said with a bright grin.

Isaac and Scott had their arms around each other, holding the other one up, leaning against the wall for extra support. Stiles moved in closer to Derek’s side, Erica burrowing further into Boyd’s chest. Derek pressed his lips to Stiles’ temple as the countdown started.

With a grin, Stiles moved to stand in front of Derek, fisting his hands in Derek’s jacket. Derek returned the smile, his hands moving under Stiles’ shirt, making him gasp at their coldness.

“Not fair!”

Derek shrugged.

“Six... Five... Four...”

He swooped in to kiss Stiles when he heard people shout ‘one’, deciding to end the old year with a kiss. Stiles returned it readily, his hands moving to cup Derek’s neck, cold against Derek’s skin. Stiles ended the kiss, smiling at Derek.

“I kinda love you.”

Derek grinned back, pressing a kiss to Stiles’ lips.

“I kinda love you, too.”

Stiles was jerked out of his arms by an enthusiastic Scott who folded him in a hug. Derek laughed, moving in to hug Isaac quickly before bro hugging Boyd while Erica kissed Isaac full on mouth, squeezing him tightly. He opened his arms to Erica who jumped into them, wrapping her legs around Derek. She squeezed him tightly before placing a smacking kiss to the corner of his lips with an impish grin.

“Happy New Year, Derek!”

“Happy New Year, Erica.”

*

Erica smiled, wrapping her arms around Boyd’s waist, her cheek resting on his shoulder as they made their way out of the school. She waved at Stiles and Isaac and hopped into Boyd’s truck. 

“Wanna watch a movie at my place?”

Boyd gave her a slow, serious glance and nodded. She furrowed her brows, an unsettled feeling in her stomach. She decided to ignore it, giving Boyd a small smile and turning the radio on. She started singing along to the song, making Boyd’s lips quirk up.  
Boyd parked in the driveway and Erica noticed her mother wasn’t home yet. Which meant Emily wasn’t either. She glanced at Boyd from the corner of her eye. Maybe it was a possibility for them to move a bit further in their relationship.

She opened the door, grabbing Boyd’s hand and tugging him inside. She took off her leather jacket and put it on the coat hanger. Boyd did the same, leaving his bag in the hallway. 

“D’you want popcorn or something?”

“I want to talk to you.”

She turned around to face him, the unsettled feeling making her stomach drop at the expression on his face. She came closer, her hands moving to rest on his chest. He took her wrists gently, moving her hands away. 

“What’s wrong, babe?”

Boyd sighed, letting go of her hands. She wrapped them around her stomach protectively, staring at him. 

“I think we should break up.”

It felt like that time when Simmons punched her, only this time all the air left her, her fingers tightening around her stomach. 

“What? Why?”

“I’m going to NYU in August, we both know that long distance relationship wouldn’t work out.”

“It might. We’re good together, V. You know that.”

“Erica,” his voice was quiet, pleading with her to understand. “I really like you. But I’m not going to be someone’s second choice. Not even yours.”

“What the hell do you mean by that? Second choice?”

Boyd looked surprised, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he laughed bitterly.

“You don’t even know. Oh Jesus, this is — look. We’re good together but it feels like I’m your second choice. You like me but you don’t love me. And I’m falling in love with you.”

She felt tears gather in her eyes and blinked them away furiously.

“If you’re in love with me then why are you breaking up with me? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Because _you_ are not in love with _me_. I can’t go on like this, knowing you won’t fall in love with me. I’m trying to spare us both heartache.”

Erica wiped away the tears that escaped her angrily with the sleeve of her shirt. She raised her chin high.

“Well, too bad it didn’t work out. Fine, we’re breaking up. Now get the hell out of my house.”

Boyd reached out as if to touch her but thought better of it, letting his hand fall to the side. He went back to grab his bag and jacket and opened the door.

“I’m sorry, Erica.”

She didn’t say anything to that, refusing to look at him. She heard the door close and crumpled to the floor, letting tears come. She sobbed loudly, gulping air greedily as her vision blurred, tears falling down her cheeks. She brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly with her arms, hiding her face.

What the hell did he mean about being her second choice? She had no idea what he was on about and that hurt. Unless it was something he said to get out of being the guilty one in the break up — but she knew that wasn’t true. She knew him well enough to know Boyd was nothing if not honest and upfront about things. Especially when it came to relationships. 

She gasped for breath, her throat feeling raw. She wiped away at the tear tracks and hauled herself up from the floor, shakily making her way upstairs to her room. There was no need for her parents and sister to find her in pieces like that. She fell onto her bed, grabbing her pillow and hugging it tightly, hiding her face in it as she let the tears come. 

Erica didn’t know how much time had passed when her mother opened the door to her room and moved quickly to sit beside her, her hands moving over Erica’s body, clearly looking for injuries.

“Erica, sweetie, what’s wrong? Honey, tell me what’s wrong, did you have another seizure?”

She shook her head, looking up from her pillow.

“V - Boyd broke up with me,” she gasped out between hiccups.

“Oh sweetheart,” her mom hugged her tightly. “What happened?”

Erica took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

“He - he said he felt like he was my second choice. That he was falling in love with me but knew I wouldn’t fall in love with him. And that he’s going to New York in August for school so a long distance relationship wouldn’t work.”

Her mother carded her fingers through Erica’s hair, soothing her. She started rocking them gently, just like when Erica had been a child and had had a nightmare.

“Are you sure it’s permanent? Do you want to get back with him?”

Erica shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you need, love?”

“I need to call Derek and Isaac.”

Her mom dropped a kiss to her forehead.

“Your bag’s still in the hallway, I’ll bring it up to you. Emily is in the kitchen, I’ll keep her away for the evening.”

“Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. And I’m sorry Boyd broke up with you. But remember you’re an amazing young woman. You deserve to be happy.”

Erica nodded and got up from her bed, deciding to change. She grabbed her sweatpants and Derek’s old Henley and moved to the bathroom. She scrubbed her makeup and tears off her face until it was pink. She changed her clothes, put her hair up in a bun and made her way back to her room. 

Her mom already left her bag on the bed and Erica fished her phone out. She bit her lip, unsure of what to do. She dialled Derek’s number.

“Erica? What’s up?”

“Derek,” she hated how broken she sounded, tears already choking her. 

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“N - no. Can you come over?”

“I’m on my way. Keep talking to me.”

“B – Boyd b – broke up with me,” she sobbed out, tears falling down her cheeks anew.

“Oh fuck, Erica, I’m so sorry. Are your parents home?”

“Y – yeah, Mom’s home with Em.”

“Alright. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Do you want me to bring anything?”

“Is Isaac with you?”

“Yeah, we were at the gym, training. Do you want me—“

“Can you both come?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Now take a few deep breaths, okay? We’ll be there soon.”

“Okay,” she hung up. 

She sat on her bed, staring at the floor, her phone in her hands. She scrolled through her text messages, deleting all messaged from Boyd. She deleted his number, lest she be tempted to call him and beg him for another chance.

There was a knock at her door.

“Erica?”

She got up and opened the door, Derek and Isaac standing on the other side, obviously worried about her.

“Hey,” she let them in, closing the door after them, unsure of what to do.

Derek opened his arms to her and she launched herself at him, her arms around his back, squeezing tightly. Derek’s hand came up to cup the back of her head, pressing her face against his shoulder, hiding her tears.

She felt Isaac unclench her fingers from Derek’s shirt, tangling their fingers together. She squeezed and felt him squeeze back. 

“Do you want to tell us what happened?” Derek murmured into her hair.

She let go of him, her left hand still in Isaac’s grip. She sat on the bed, pulling them with her and wiped her tears with her right hand. She’s had enough crying already. She sniffled loudly.

“At first he said that he’s going to NYU in August and a long distance relationship wouldn’t work out. Then he said he felt like he was my second choice. What the fuck did he mean by that?”

“Maybe he thought you had a thing for Derek,” Isaac’s quiet voice made her shake her head.

“No, he should know better. I mean it’s obvious there’s nothing between me and Derek.”

Derek shrugged.

“Remember what Stiles said a few months ago? People come up with gossip, maybe Boyd had enough listening to it.”

“So instead of confronting me, he decided to break up with me?”

“Apparently.”

She felt Isaac rub his thumb across her palm, calming her down. She looked at her bed covers, picking at them.

“He said he was falling in love with me but couldn’t be with me when he knew I wouldn’t fall in love with him. When I asked him what he meant, he just laughed and said I didn’t even know. I – what the hell? Things were going so well. Weren’t they? I mean, c’mon, it’s a week before Valentine’s Day, I thought we were going to have a quiet evening together, what happened?”

“Do you want me to talk to him?”

Erica shook her head.

“No. It’s over, I just need to get over it. Him.”

“Are you hungry?”

She looked up at Derek, surprised.

“What?”

He cleared his throat.

“Whenever Laura was down because of a guy she always wanted her favourite food,” he shrugged. “Thought it might make you feel better.”

Erica chuckled, shaking her head. Her stomach rumbled loudly, making her laugh.

“Actually, I could go for a pizza.”

Isaac squeezed her hand and got up.

“I’ll ask your mom to order some, okay?”

“Thanks, Isaac.”

They spent the evening in her room, eating pizza and talking about anything but Boyd. Isaac told them about his Spanish class, the one where Coach Finstock had subbed for their usual teacher, making Erica cry but this time from laughter. The boys left after nine, promising to see her tomorrow and hugging her tightly. 

She sighed, burrowing under her covers. Her door opened bit by bit, Emily sticking her head inside.

“’Rica!” She whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Are you asleep?”

“No. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Emily made her way into Erica’s room, climbing on the bed, turning her puppy eyes on Erica.

“Can I sleep with you?”

Erica lifted the covers and Emily got in, burrowing close to Erica, her hand fisting in Erica’s Henley as Emily cuddled close.

“I love you, ‘Rica.”

“I love you too, Em,” she whispered back, squeezing her little sister.

“You’re the bestest sister ever. Please don’t cry anymore.”

“Okay. I won’t.”

“Promise?”

“Pinky promise.”

“Okay,” Emily nodded against her collarbone. She muttered sleepily, “I always liked Isaac better than Boyd anyway.”

Erica hid her face in Emily’s hair, breathing in her sister’s scent, her eyes closed against tears.

*

Derek wiped his hands on his thighs, trying to get rid of the sweat. He knocked on Stiles’ door and nodded at the Sheriff who opened it.

“Derek.”

“Sir.”

“Come on in, son. Stiles is upstairs.”

Derek went in, took his shoes off before nodding at Sheriff again and making his way upstairs to Stiles’ room. He poked his head in to see Stiles sitting in front of his laptop, bobbing away to the music streaming through his earphones. Derek smirked, moving behind Stiles and poking him in his ribs, knowing full well that Stiles was ticklish as hell.

Stiles squawked, throwing his hands in the air, his body moving away from Derek’s fingers. He rounded on Derek with a startled expression. He tugged the earphones out of his ears and scowled.

“What the hell, Derek? You scared the living shit out of me!”

Derek simply smirked at that, resting his hands on the handrails of Stiles’ chair, effectively boxing him in. He leaned in, kissing Stiles who brought his hands up to tangle in Derek’s hair.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself, jackass.”

“Your dad let me in.”

“At least you didn’t strike breaking and entering off your bucket list,” Stiles snarked.

Derek laughed, sitting on Stiles’ bed. He shrugged his jacket off, letting it fall on Stiles’ bed.

“You were the one who invited me over, remember?”

Stiles cleared his throat, his eyes moving toward the open door. He nodded and put his earphones on his keyboard.

“I thought we could watch something, maybe? Dad’s leaving soon for the night shift.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. What do you want to watch?”

It was Stiles’ turn to smirk and Derek felt butterflies in his stomach at the sight. Stiles looked mischievous, his eyes bright with promise. He licked his lips slowly, suggestively, knowing Derek was watching him. He bit on his lip, letting it go slowly.

“I don’t really care.”

“Okay,” Derek rasped out.

Stiles pushed himself out of his chair, his hands braced on Derek’s thighs as he leaned in to press his lips against Derek’s in a chaste, teasing kiss.

“C’mon, let’s show my dad we’re not up to anything incriminating in here. Not yet, at least.”

Derek tangled his fingers with Stiles’ and they made their way downstairs. The Sheriff was in the kitchen, eating a sandwich. He raised his brows at them as they sat down in the living room, Stiles grabbing the remote and putting on USA.

“Quiet evening in, boys?”

“Yep,” Stiles replied. “There’s a Bond movie marathon coming up so we’re gonna watch that.”

Stiles’ dad narrowed his eyes.

“You can quote those movies in your sleep.”

Stiles shrugged, raising Derek’s arm and burrowing under it.

“They’re good, Dad. Daniel Craig is an awesome Bond, okay.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’m off to work, I’ll be back in the morning. No funny business, you two. I mean it,” he said, pointing his finger at them.

Stiles brought his hands up in a defensive gesture, shrugging his shoulders.

“No funny business, promise.”

The Sheriff groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He grabbed his jacket and put it on. 

“Just for Christ’s sake, use protection. I mean it,” he shouted as he closed the door behind himself.

“Somehow I don’t think your dad bought the innocent act,” Derek remarked dryly.

“He never did,” Stiles sighed mournfully. “But whatever. Do you want to watch a movie here or do you want to watch a movie _upstairs_?”

“Upstairs,” Derek murmured, pressing a kiss to Stiles’ temple.

Stiles switched the TV off and pulled Derek off the couch. He twisted his hands around Derek’s neck, leaning his body into Derek’s suggestively. 

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Oh?”

“Mmm,” Stiles nibbled on Derek’s jaw. “I’ve been thinking that we should have sex. Tonight.”

Derek closed his eyes, his grip on Stiles’ hips tightening at the words.

“Oh really?”

“Uh-huh. And I think we should do it more than once.”

“And why’s that?”

Stiles pulled away from nipping on his jaw, giving Derek his best shit eating grin.

“Because, at first you should fuck me,” his grin got bigger as Derek’s hips jerked against him. “And then I should fuck you. See what we like, that kinda thing.”

Derek smashed his lips against Stiles’, all hot tongue and teeth, as if he was trying to crawl into Stiles’ skin. He pulled away, panting harshly.

“I think that’s the best idea you’ve had since I met you.”

“High praise coming from you.”

“You’ve no idea,” Derek smirked, tugging Stiles along as he made his way upstairs.

Stiles started tugging on Derek’s shirt by the time they braved the stairs. Derek raised his arms, letting Stiles take his shirt off and threw it in Stiles’ room. He moved to take off Stiles’ plaid shirt, growling a little at the t-shirt underneath it.

“You’re wearing to many layers.”

“What can I say, I’m a complicated guy,” Stiles snarked against his collarbone, his fingers running over Derek’s chest. “I like my clothes to reflect that.”

Derek rolled his eyes, tugging Stiles’ t-shirt over his head, making a pleased sound when he finally got his hands on Stiles’ pale skin. He tweaked one of Stiles’ nipples, smirking at the cut off moan that came from Stiles’ mouth. His hands moved to Stiles’ fly, popping the button, lowering the zipper.

“God, I can’t get enough of your abs,” Stiles muttered against his skin, sinking to his knees in front of Derek, placing open mouthed kisses all over his stomach. He opened Derek’s jeans, sliding them down his thighs. Derek’s breath caught when Stiles leaned in to mouth at his half hard cock through his boxer-briefs. His hand came to cup Stiles’ head, his thumb resting behind Stiles’ thumb, caressing the skin there.

“Where’s the lube?”

Stiles kept mouthing at his cock, his eyes raised to look at Derek, a grin on his lips. Derek groaned at the sight, closing his eyes tightly.

“Stiles.”

“Under the pillow.”

Derek tugged Stiles to stand, helping him get rid of his jeans. He crawled on the bed, grabbing the lube from underneath the pillow and settling his back against the headboard. He patted his lap.

“Get rid of your boxers.”

Stiles chucked them, getting on the bed, crawling up Derek’s legs, pressing a kiss to Derek’s muscular thigh. His cock was standing out proudly and Derek couldn’t help the impulse to close his hand around it, tugging a few times. Stiles moaned, gripping Derek’s shoulders, his blunt nails biting into his skin. 

Derek leaned in to lick a stripe up Stiles’ neck.

“Do you want me to prepare you or do you want to do it yourself?”

“Mmm, no, you do it. I wanna feel your fingers. God, I wanted you to finger me for so long now.”

Derek took in a shuddering breath, resting his forehead against Stiles’ collarbone, popping open the cap of the bottle, squeezing lube on his fingers. 

He reached around Stiles, his unlubed hand squeezing Stiles’ ass, kneading it as his other hand reached for Stiles’ hole. He let his fingers tease the opening a bit, quick, fluttery touches until Stiles was squirming in his lap.

“Don’t be a bastard, Derek, c’mon.”

Derek pressed his index finger against Stiles’ hole, feeling it contract around his digit before sucking it in. Derek groaned at the feeling. Stiles was so damn tight around his finger – he wasn’t sure he could stand having Stiles wrapped around his cock without coming too fast.

“I’m not made of glass, we have enough lube, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” Stiles chanted against his ear.

“Jesus, you’re so impatient, let me enjoy this.”

Stiles undulated his hips, grinding on Derek’s cock.

“You’ll enjoy fucking me more.”

Derek twisted his finger in Stiles, pulling it out only to add another. Stiles hissed at the feeling, gripping Derek’s hair and tugging. Derek stretched his fingers, scissoring them carefully inside Stiles. He licked at the hollow of Stiles’ collarbone where sweat started gathering. Stiles started moving his hips in rhythm with Derek’s fingers, easing their movement. 

“Another?”

“Ah, add more lube and yeah, we’re good to go.”

Derek grabbed for the lube blindly with his other hand, finding it after a few seconds. He poised the bottle over the small of Stiles’ back.

“Watch out.”

“Whaaaa-ah, fuck, Derek, that’s cold!”

Derek grinned into Stiles’ skin, smearing the lube around Stiles’ hole, pulling his fingers out to gather the remained and distribute it over his fingers. 

“Tell me if it hurts.”

Stiles nodded, his mouth busy leaving marks on Derek’s neck. He felt two of his fingers slide into Stiles with less resistance than before. He added the third finger slowly, stilling as Stiles’ teeth sunk into the muscle of his shoulder. Stiles let go after a few seconds, nodding against Derek.

“Yeah, okay.”

Derek started moving his fingers in and out slowly, adding a gentle twist and stretching once he was sure he wasn’t hurting Stiles. His fingers were in Stiles up to his second knuckle, twisting gently inside when Stiles’ jerked, his breath caught in his throat.

“Do that again,” he demanded, grinding his hips. 

With a muttered curse Derek did as prompted, infinitely glad he and Stiles worked their stamina up since their first make out session or this would have been over by now. Stiles moaned, his fingers trying to find purchase against the skin on Derek’s back.

“Fuck, I love your fingers, I’m going to put a ring on them, Jesus, so brilliant, fuck I knew you would be good at this, oh yes, more, harder, Derek, more, Jesus, you bastard, c’mon, don’t fall asleep on me.”

Derek chuckled, pressing the tip of his middle finger against Stiles’ prostate, enjoying the way Stiles was writhing in his lap. Stiles slapped his arm, his eyes huge, his mouth red from where he was biting on his lips.

“Don’t laugh at me you bastard, fuck me!”

Derek pulled his fingers away from Stiles, patting his thigh so he could take his own underwear off. He didn’t bother looking where it landed, his hand moving under Stiles’ pillow for a condom. He found the foil packet, putting one corner in his teeth, tearing at it with his dry hand. 

Stiles wrapped his hand around Derek’s cock, jerking him off a few times before he took the condom from Derek and put it on him with ease. He smirked at Derek’s expression.

“I’ve practiced on myself these past few days.”

Derek closed his eyes against that, moving his slick hand over his cock, slickening the condom.

“How do you wanna—"

Stiles didn’t let him finish before he was throwing his thigh over Derek’s lap, straddling him again.

“Like that. A little help?”

Derek steadied his cock, guiding it as Stiles sank on him slowly, hissing as the head breached him. Derek’s hand moved to grip his hip.

“Easy. We have all night.”

Stiles laughed at that, the laughter catching in his throat.

“I’m hoping to do this more than twice tonight, actually. I’ve been aspiring to that, okay.”

Derek reared up to catch Stiles’ lips, effectively shutting him up. Both of his hands clutching at Stiles’ hips, he moaned as he felt Stiles start sinking on his cock again slowly, inch by inch. The kiss was hot and messy, more tongue than finesse and Derek didn’t think he’s been ever so turned on in his life.

Stiles’ ass rested on Derek’s thighs, his cock all the way in Stiles, being clenched tightly. Derek breathed shallowly, kissing Stiles’ chest, his lips closing around one nipple, sucking. Stiles’ hands moved to rest in his hair again, tugging.

“Okay, I’m gonna move. Fuck, you feel so good. Jesus, Erica was right, all the lube, oh god,” Stiles babbled, raising on his knees nearly until Derek’s cock slipped out before he lowered himself slowly again. Derek groaned, scratching a trail up Stiles’ back.

Stiles started rising and falling, each movement quicker than the previous one. Derek felt his orgasm starting to build up as he brought his hand to close around Stiles’ cock, his tongue drawing circles around Stiles’ nipple.

“Oh fuck, keep doing that, I’m so close, Derek, so, so close. Oh god, I want you to come in me, I want to feel it, fuck that would be amazing, oh Jesus, yesss, right there, harder.”

Derek planted his feet against the mattress, thrusting up as Stiles slid down, his thumb flicking against the head of Stiles’ dick, smearing the pre-come. He thrust once, twice, before he felt Stiles stiffen and groan, coming all over Derek’s hand and stomach, his ass squeezing Derek’s in a most delicious manner. His hold on Stiles’ hips tightened as he thrust a few more times before coming himself.

Stiles was draped over him, seemingly boneless. Derek’s hands slid to rest on Stiles’ thighs as he tried to catch his breath.

“That was fucking awesome.”

Derek chuckled.

“Do you have a hair pulling kink or something?”

Stiles leaned away a bit to look at him, a sated smile playing around his lips.

“Why do you ask?”

“’Cause you kept on pulling my hair.”

“Sorry, did it bother you?”

Derek shook his head, squeezing Stiles’ thighs.

“No, I liked it.”

“Good. Nap now?”

“Mmm, good idea.”

Stiles planted his hands on Derek’s shoulder, raising himself from Derek’s cock as Derek held the condom at the base. He rolled it up, tied it and threw it in the trash can beside Stiles’ bookcase.

“And he shot and he scored!” Stiles cheered.

Derek rolled his eyes, grabbing a tissue to clean himself up. Stiles was already under the covers, reaching out for him sleepily. Derek got in, moving to arrange his body around Stiles’, dropping a kiss to his forehead.

“Mmm, I’m gonna wake you up in a few hours to have my wicked way with you,” Stiles slurred, already half asleep.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Derek closed his eyes and let himself drift off, Stiles a warm, comforting presence against his side. It felt like no time at all had passed when he was stirred awake by Stiles peppering kisses over his chest.

“You awake, Derek?”

Derek moved his hand to cup the back of Stiles’ head, nodding sleepily.

“Mmm, yeah. How are you feeling?”

Stiles rested his chin on Derek’s chest, smiling at him.

“A bit sore but it’s a good kinda sore.”

Derek slid his hand down Stiles’ back, tracing his spine with his fingers. Stiles had so many moles on his back, he was tempted to map them out with his tongue.

“Good.”

“Wow, you’re even less eloquent after sex. Do you turn into a caveman during the full moon or something?”

Derek chuckled, shaking his head.

“I’m enjoying the afterglow, you idiot.”

“No name calling when we’re in bed. And your afterglow is officially,” Stiles leaned over him to look at the clock on his night stand, “four hours long. Man, I must be a good lay.” 

“You are. Just don’t go confirming it with other people,” Derek muttered, bringing Stiles closer to kiss him.

“Not planning on it,” Stiles breathed against his lips, his hand sliding down Derek’s body to cup his hardening cock. “Ready for round two?”

“Give it your worst.”

Stiles scowled at him, then turned his attention to Derek’s chest, biting at his pecs lightly, worrying his nipples with his teeth gently, the way he knew drove Derek wild. His hand worked Derek into full hardness. Derek’s hips started moving in tandem with Stiles’ hand, fucking up into the tight grip.

“I thought you wanted to fuck me sometime tonight, Stiles?” Derek teased, his voice breathless.

“Shut up. Where’s the lube?” 

Stiles’ hand looked blindly for the bottle all over the bed. Derek craned his neck and spotted it on the floor. He reached out for it, Stiles holding his hips so he wouldn’t slide off the bed. He handed the bottle to Stiles who pressed a quick kiss to his hand in thanks. He poured the lube over his long fingers, warming it up.

“Put your feet on the mattress, it’s supposed to make it easier on you.”

Derek did as asked, raising his knees, opening himself up for Stiles. Stiles’ eyes flitted over his body as he outlined the rim of Derek’s hole with one slick finger, getting a feel for it.

“Oh man, you’re gorgeous. Still can’t believe you’re here with me. Seriously, keep thinking I’m having a very realistic wet dream.”

“Less talking, more fingering,” Derek ground out, trying to get Stiles’ finger inside of him.

Stiles slipped his finger into Derek, circling it, stretching him out. Derek looked at him, his mouth open, his eyes glued to where his finger was entering Derek with a wild look. Derek moaned, thrusting on Stiles’ finger.

“More.”

Stiles acquiesced, putting another finger in Derek, scissoring. Derek grunted at the feeling, the stretch and slight pain was something he was prepared for. Derek closed his eyes, trying to relax as Stiles fingered him, those long digits circling and stretching until it became almost too much. 

“Fuck, Stiles,” he groaned, throwing an arm over his face.

“Pass me the condom,” Stiles’ breath ghosted his thighs. 

Derek reached under the pillow for the silver packet, opening it and passing it to Stiles who put it on deftly, slickening his cock up.

“Gimme a pillow,” Stiles demanded and Derek rolled his eyes, passing the pillow to him.

Stiles nudged his hips up, putting the pillow underneath them. He leaned to kiss Derek, trapping Derek’s lower lip between his own and tugging gently.

“Ready?”

“I’ve been ready for the past ten minutes,” Derek bitched, circling his legs around Stiles’ waist, pressing him closer.

“Jesus, you’re a pushy bottom, aren’t you?”

Stiles entered him slowly, giving Derek time to get used to the stretch. Stiles’ head rested on Derek’s chest, his breath moistening Derek’s skin as Stiles panted, his hips moving in short jerks as he worked himself inside Derek.

“Oh fuck, you’re so damn tight. Jesus, how did you stand being in me, I feel like I’m going to come any second now. Oh god, I’m going to embarrass myself, sorry Derek, I’ll make it up to you, I swear,” Stiles babbled into his skin.

Derek tightened his legs around Stiles, pushing him in further, his hips canting as Stiles bottomed out. He breathed out loudly, canting his hips again, getting used to the feeling of Stiles inside of him.

“Move, Stiles!”

Stiles thrust into him, pulling back, repositioning himself before thrusting again. Derek moved his hand to his cock, stroking it quickly, a few tight gripped pulls enough to bring him back to full hardness until he was leaking. 

Stiles was all warm friction inside of him, making the most delicious noises Derek has ever head. Derek felt his orgasm build, sparks igniting along his spine and sped up his hand. He came all over himself, his hips jerking, reducing Stiles to a blubbering mass as he held on, thrusting into Derek and Stilling, his back bent like a bow as he came with a strangled moan.

Stiles collapsed on him, hiding his face in Derek’s neck, breathing heavily. Derek grunted, moving his hand from under Stiles’ body, letting it flop to the bed. He was wiped out, sweat cooling on his skin, mingling with that of Stiles.

“Wow,” Stiles muttered.

“Now you see why I didn’t see the need to use more words,” Derek drawled.

“Yeah. Wow.”

Derek chuckled, pinching Stiles’ arm.

“C’mon, get rid of the condom, we can sleep a bit before I have to go.”

“Mmm, okay,” Stiles agreed, not moving an inch.

Derek rolled his eyes, his hands pushing at Stiles’ shoulders.

“At least get out of me, I’ll clean you up.”

With a reluctant groan Stiles raised himself on shaky arms, grabbed the condom at the base of his dick and pulled out before flopping to the side and rolling so that he was on his back. Derek huffed, taking the condom and getting rid of it. He got up from the bed, wincing at the soreness and made his way to the bathroom. He cleaned himself up and came back with a wet towel to clean up Stiles. He threw it on the floor, getting back under the covers, putting his head on Stiles’ shoulder, throwing and arm and a leg over him, pinning him down in place.

Stiles patted his arm, his fingers curling around it in a slack grip.

“Love you.”

“Love you too. Now sleep.”

“Okay.”

*

Erica really didn’t want to go to school. It was Valentine’s Day, the very day she had been so happy and excited for just a week ago. She had been looking forward to spending it with her boyfriend, hanging off his arm, exchanging kisses and sappy smiles. It was something she had always dreamed of before, something she thought would happen for her this year. But things never really worked the way Erica wanted them to.

She had a seizure last night, her muscles still aching after seizing uncontrollably. Thankfully she was already in bed then, she didn’t injure herself. Her mother most likely had a sixth sense or something because she was with Erica the moment the fit started. She cradled Erica close to her, helped her change into different PJ and changed her bed sheets. She stayed with Erica until Erica fell asleep, crying softly, tears streaming down her cheeks, sinking into her pillow.

She got up earlier than usual, intent on looking her best, no matter how she felt. She chose her clothes, took a shower and spent time on doing her hair and makeup. Gone was the frail, fragile Erica from last night and in her place was the Erica she was now, the confident woman. 

Too bad she didn’t feel like it.

Stiles picked her up for school, a small content smile on his lips. Her first instinct was to say something cutting, something that would hurt him and bring him down with her. She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing remark when Stiles reached into his bag and gave her a felt rose.

“Sorry it isn’t real, but this way it will last longer, you know? And you deserve that, Catwoman. You totally do and you look gorgeous and he’s an idiot for leaving you. I can kick his ass if you want me to.”

Her breath caught in her throat as she ran her fingers over the felt petals, a small smile making its way to her lips. She leaned over, pressing a kiss to Stiles’ cheek.

“Thanks, Batman. I love you.”

“Love you too, Erica,” Stiles grinned at her, that big, blinding smile that used to send butterflies through her stomach.

Now it simply warmed her, knowing that she had his friendship. She threaded the rose through her hair, making it lay just by her brow and returned Stiles’ smile. She wasn’t going to let today get her down.

Which was easier said than done once she and Stiles entered the school. There were couples everywhere and how did she not see it before? Stiles dragged her towards Derek and Isaac, his hand slipping into Derek’s the moment he saw him. She turned her eyes away, unable to bear it.

Isaac bumped her shoulder with a soft look in his eyes.

“Wanna skip?”

She looked around and nodded. She scrunched up her nose at the sight of Whittemore pressing Lydia Martin against her locker, her finger twirling her strawberry blonde hair coquettishly as Whittemore leaned in, kissing her with a smile on his lips.

“Derek, can you give me your keys?”

Derek looked to Isaac, his gaze cutting to Erica, then softening. He dug his keys out of his jacket pocket and passed them to Isaac. He tugged Erica close to him, hugging her tight.

“We’re going on a date tomorrow, you and I. Mark it in your calendar.”

She squeezed back, her hands bunching on his jacket. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder and sighed.

“I’d like that.”

Isaac slung an arm around her shoulders, hip-checking her, a superior smile twisting his lips.

“Now, give me your best smirk. You own this place, Erica. Show those peasants where they belong.”

She laughed at that, straightening. Her lips twisted in a mocking smirk, her arm sneaking around Isaac’s waist, her hand curling around his hip. She swayed her hips as they walked out of the school, sneering at people who looked up at them. Isaac opened the Camaro’s door for her and she slid in, putting the seatbelt on. Isaac got in, started the car.

“Where do you want to go?”

She shrugged.

“Dunno. Why won’t you choose?”

“Alright. We’ll need to stop by get some gas.”

“Whatever,” she muttered, turning the radio on.

She stayed in the car when Isaac pumped the gas and went to pay. He came back carrying a plastic bag which he put in the bag. He grinned at her, his mischievous smile, and took off, driving towards the outskirts of the town. She smiled when she realised he was driving towards the Preserve. Sure enough, he parked at the Point, overlooking the town. 

Isaac pushed his seat back, grabbed the bag and gestured to her to do the same. She pushed the seat back, curling her legs under her. Isaac passed her a bottle of Coke.

“Thanks.”

He shrugged, his leather jacket swishing against the leather seat of Camaro. Isaac put the bag on the floor between his feet before turning to face her. 

“No worries.”

“What prompted this?”

“You looked like you wanted to be there even less than I did. So I thought I’d do us both a favour and skip.”

“Excellent thinking,” she teased.

“Now, care to tell me what’s wrong?”

She dropped her gaze to the bottle, picking at the label. She bit her lip and shrugged. It felt so silly to her now that he asked. Like she was being childish, letting all those little things get to her. She tried to play it off.

“Just, y’know. Stuff.”

“Stuff,” Isaac sounded unimpressed.

“Yeah.”

“Boyd stuff?”

“That, too.”

Isaac reached out his hand to squeeze her knee. He left his hand resting there, warm and big, calming her down, grounding her in the moment.

“You know you can tell me.”

“It’s just that,” she started, hating that she was tearing up. She swallowed a few times, blinking away the tears. “It’s just that I always wanted to spend Valentine’s with a boyfriend. And when Boyd asked me out, I thought it would happen, you know? I still don’t know why we broke up, I still don’t understand. Then I came in to school and everyone was so wrapped in each other. And Stiles was so sickeningly in love with Derek this morning when he picked me up. I wanted to make him as miserable as I was feeling and then he gave me the rose,” she touched it gently, pulling her hair away from it. “And I had a seizure last night, for the first time since August. So I can’t drive again and it’s ridiculous, I know, it’s so small compared to what other people go through and I know I have it good but I’m just so frustrated, Isaac.”

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She could feel her nose becoming stuffy. She sniffled, pulling her sleeve over her fingers, wiping at her face. Isaac was looking at her with that soft look in his eyes he always had when they were alone. It always made her feel so cherished.

Isaac rummaged through the bag, making her furrow her brows in confusion. He pulled out a huge red, heart shaped lollipop and handed it to her with a shy smile.

“I know it’s not what you wanted but Happy Valentine’s, Erica.”

She took the lollipop, smiling, uncaring that the tears were escaping her eyes. She laughed, pulling the lollipop close to her.

“You’re the sweetest person I know, Isaac. Thank you.”

“I wish I could make things better for you, you know? I’m sorry about the seizure, that sucks. But I’m volunteering to be your driver as long as you need me. I’m at your beck and call,” he gave her a small bow from his seat.

She reached out, tangling her fingers with his. She rested her cheek on the head rest and closed her eyes briefly, listening to the music pouring from the radio.

“Can we stay here for the day?”

“Sure.”

Erica opened her eyes, looking at Isaac. His curly brown hair, his big blue eyes, the amazing smile. A thought struck her, making her stomach knot up uncomfortably.

“You didn’t have plans? No girl to ask out for a romantic date?”

Isaac chuckled, an emotion crossing his face quicker than Erica could identify it.

“I’m fine here with you.”

“I’m fine here with you, too, pretty boy.”

“You have got to stop calling me that.”

“Would you like pumpkin better?”

Isaac scowled.

“No.”

“Cupcake? Sweetums? Boo? Kitten?”

He rolled his eyes at her, landing a weak punch on her shoulder, his cheeks tinged pink.

“Shut up or I’ll think you’re hitting on me.”

Erica grinned, wide and bright.

“Oh honey, I’m always hitting on you.”

Isaac huffed and pulled a blanket from the backseat, throwing it at Erica. She looked at him questioningly and he shrugged.

“I remember you said your muscles hurt after a seizure. No need to make it worse by getting cold.”

Erica blinked, the wind knocked out of her with the fierce force of emotion curling in her stomach. 

She really needed to talk to Derek.

*

Derek pulled to Erica’s driveway, blaring the horn twice as he waited for her. She came out, closed the door and made her way to the Camaro quickly, pulling her jacket tighter around her, red gloves on her hands.

“Hey.”

“Froyo or pizza?”

“Chinese,” she said with a teasing smile just to be contrary.

Derek rolled his eyes and pulled the car into reverse, making his way towards the local Chinese restaurant. 

“Your wish is my command.”

“Not sure Stiles would be happy to hear that.”

“Stiles told me to do whatever I have to do to make you smile again. Apparently he misses your prying into our sex life.”

“I stopped prying since there’s nothing to pry into, according to you,” Erica retorted with an arched eyebrow.

Derek cleared his throat, his eyes firmly on the road. Erica’s eyes grew as she clapped her hands before moving them to cover her mouth. She let them fall down with a laugh.

“Shut up! You didn’t!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh my god, you totally did! You slept with Stiles!”

“What makes you so sure it wasn’t Stiles who slept with me?” Derek asked dryly.

Erica narrowed her eyes at him, her lips pursed in thought.

“You slept with each other,” she said triumphantly.

“Well observed.”

“No, I mean you devirginized him and he devirginized you. Aw, that’s so cute.”

“I’m starting to regret this outing already.”

“No, you’re not. You want me happy so you will tell me all the details.”

“No, I won’t. Go bother Stiles tomorrow.”

She pointed her finger at Derek.

“I knew you liked it when I got him all blushy and riled up! Don’t worry, I can ask the most embarrassing questions so he hides his face in your shoulder at lunch.”

Derek threw her an amused glance as he pulled to the restaurant. They went in, sitting in a booth and ordering their food. Derek fixed Erica with a level stare, his hands folded in front of him on the table. Erica fidgeted, picking at the napkin.

“What?”

“You have that look like you want to say something but don’t know how to.”

She took in a deep breath, her eyes closed.

“Why didn’t you think Boyd and I were good together?”

Derek tensed, shaking his head.

“We’ve talked about this—“

“Tell me.”

Derek looked away, clenching his jaw. Erica reached for his hands, squeezing them tightly. She looked at him pleadingly.

“Please, tell me.”

“Because I thought you were in love with the idea of Boyd, not Boyd himself. Because I think you’re in love with someone else.”  
Erica deflated at that, leaning back in her seat. She sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

“By that you mean Isaac.”

That surprised Derek. He hadn’t known Erica had realised it yet.

“Yes.”

She laughed bitterly at that, shaking her head. The waitress brought their food and they stayed quiet until she left.

“How couldn’t I have known?”

Derek poked at his orange chicken.

“I think you didn’t want to see it for a while. Isaac didn’t exactly fit who you wanted to be. But I could see you two were close – in a different way than you and I.”

“What tipped you off?”

“The way you talk about him.”

“What do you mean?”

Derek smiled slightly.

“You talk about Isaac the way I do about Stiles.”

“Oh.”

Derek took a bite out of his chicken, chewing slowly. Erica twirled noodles on her fork, letting them fall before twirling them  
again. She reached out for her glass, taking a long swallow. 

“Yesterday Isaac took me to the Point when we skipped. I fell apart around him, crying and whining about what was going wrong and he gave me this huge heart-shaped lollipop to make me smile. I told him I had a seizure,” Derek snapped his head up at that, opening his mouth to say something but Erica stopped him with a raised hand. “And he just covered me with a blanket, saying he remembered I told him my muscles ached afterwards and that he didn’t want me to make it worse by getting cold. It was like a kick in the gut. Jesus, Derek, I was so stupidly blind. I was so over my head with trying to be someone I’m not, being this bitchy queen of our school that I ignored how I always felt relaxed and safe around Isaac. And when I was with Boyd, it felt so amazing. There he was, this amazing guy who liked me and made me feel like a princess, someone who asked me out and noticed me before. It went to my head and I thought I was in one of those teenage movies, finally getting my happily ever after, after having to put up with all the shit previously. I let myself be swept away by my imagination, Boyd was right. I didn’t love him and even though I thought he was my first choice, he wasn’t. He was the guy I was with because I was too stupid to see what was in front of me.”

Derek didn’t say anything to that, his eyes steady on Erica to show her he was listening. She gave him a small smile, just an upturned quirk of her lips before she continued.

“I don’t know what to do now. I don’t know if Isaac feels the same or not but for now it doesn’t matter. I need to get my head straight, need to get comfortable with myself and work through all those thoughts that keep scrambling in my brain. I just — I’m sorry I was so blind. Sorry I was a total bitch to you about Boyd and thanks for being my friend, Der.”

Derek reached out to catch her hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Don’t mention it, it’s what friends are for. And don’t call me Der.”

Erica laughed at that, loud and beautiful and Derek realised he had really missed the sound over the past week. With a wink, he pulled his hand away, going back to his meal. Erica looked at her plate with a smile still on her face and started devouring her noodles. 

They ate their dinner and decided on splitting the dessert. Erica licked the spoon, grinning around it.

“Now it’s your turn.”

Derek raised his eyebrows at her.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Dish! I’ll get Stiles to dish, too, but c’mon, it’s your best friend duty to tell me about your first time! I’ll do the same!”

Derek wrinkled his nose, making Erica laugh.

“I don’t want to hear about you and Isaac having sex.”

“Whoa, there, let’s not get ahead with that — and don’t you try to distract me, Derek Hale! You had sex last night and I demand to know how it was like!”

Someone cleared a throat pointedly and Derek closed his eyes in mortification. Erica coughed.

“Would you like anything else?” The waitress asked, her expression full of amusement.

“The bill, thanks,” Derek asked quietly.

She left, throwing him an amused glance. Erica’s cheeks were tinged pink but her gaze was resolute. Derek sighed and leaned back in his seat.

“It was amazing.”

Erica squeed, flailing her hands about, making Derek chuckle.

“C’mon, tell me more!”

“You were right, we did it twice,” he said with a shrug. “I like it both ways and so does Stiles. Yes, we used enough lube, yes, we used the pointers from fanfiction, no we will not be your inside sources for your stories.”

She pouted at him exaggeratedly.

“Spoilsport. Anything else you want to tell me?”

“Not really,” he replied dryly.

“Fine, you can pay the tab then. I need to refresh my lipstick.”

“You’re not wearing any.”

“Exactly.”

Derek rolled his eyes but nodded at her when she left for the bathroom. The waitress came by with the bill and Derek left her a big tip in thanks for not saying anything about Erica’s outburst. 

He put his jacket back on and lounged in the seat. Erica was well on her way to pulling herself together, it seemed. She worked things out quicker than he had thought she would — at least he didn’t have to stage an intervention to make her aware of her feelings for Isaac now. He knew he shouldn’t meddle, he wasn’t best at meddling, but he had thought it would be good if Erica and Isaac spent some more time together. He’d have to ask Stiles to help him come up with some sort of a plan.

Man, Laura would have gotten a kick out of that, he thought with a smile.

The realisation made his smile drop. He had thought about Laura with a smile, without feeling like his chest was exploding with anger and grief. He thought about his mom, dad, Jeremy and Emily, about Peter, aunt Anne and little Connor. It didn’t feel like it used to, all raw and hurting even four years after. All he felt now was a distant pang of loss. He still missed them like crazy but it wasn’t so overwhelming as before.

He had moved on without even noticing.

“Derek? Derek, are you okay?”

His head snapped up. Erica was standing beside him, her face scrunched up in concern, her hand on his shoulder. He didn’t realise when she came up to him, too lost in his thoughts.

“I’m fine,” he rasped out and cleared his throat. “I’m fine.”

“If you’re sure,” she said hesitatingly.

Derek got up and swung an arm around her shoulders, bringing her to rest against his side with a smile. 

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

*

Erica sighed, flopping on Stiles’ bed and staring at his ceiling.

“I’m bored.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

She turned her head to look at Derek, who sat on the floor, his back to the bed. Isaac and stiles were playing some video game, elbowing and insulting each other at every turn. It was quite entertaining for the first half an hour.

“I want you to entertain me.”

“Uh-huh.”

“C’mon, Der—“

“Don’t call me that.”

“Fine. C’mon, Derek, I’m dying of boredom here. And I know you are, too. Staring at Stiles as he plays his video game must have lost its novelty a few weeks ago.”

Derek rolled his eyes and got up on the bed besides her.

“What do you want to do?”

She shrugged.

“Dunno.”

“Ha, take that, you frog humping sonofabitch!”

Stiles’ shout startled a laugh out of Erica. 

“Nice vocabulary, Batman.”

“Thanks. Tried learning it in original from _Firefly_ but I can’t speak Mandarin.”

Derek shook his head, his expression fond as he looked at Stiles. Erica nudged him and waggled her eyebrows. He scowled at her instantly.

“No.”

“Aw, c’mon!”

“No.”

Isaac turned to look at them, pausing the game.

“No what?”

“Just no.”

Erica pouted.

“Derek doesn’t want to share the details of his and Stiles’ sex lives.”

She cackled as Stiles blushed, the tips of his ears turning red. Derek pinched her in retaliation.

“Hey, guys?” Isaac turned their attention to him. “How about we go on a road trip during the summer?”

“Oooh, can we? Can we, can we, can we?” 

Erica sat up on her knees, turning her pleading eyes to Derek. 

“Why are you looking at me? Road trip in Camaro won’t be fun.”

She turned to Stiles, batting her eyelashes at him.

“Batman.”

“Catwoman,” Stiles returned seriously.

“We need your Batmobile for a road trip. Are you up for the challenge?”

“Roger that. Challenge accepted. Bring it bitch, et cetera, et cetera.”

She jumped on Stiles’ bed, her smile bright and huge.

“Oooh, okay, we need music. And a map. None of that GPS shit, we’re doing it old school.”

“Maybe we should choose where we’re going first?” Isaac asked, clearly amused by her excitement.

“Grand Canyon!”

“No way, Yellowstone! We could camp out there,” Stiles threw in. “It’s my car, I’m the driver. We’re going to Yellowstone.”

“Fine. We’re doing Grand Canyon next year, then.”

Stiles grinned at her, nodding his head enthusiastically. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from his desk, biting the cap off. 

“Okay, we need to come up with what we will need,” he said around the cap.

Derek reached out, tugged the cap out of Stiles’ mouth, rolling his eyes.

“Maybe let’s decide when we’re going, first?”

“That might be a good idea.”

“How about July?” 

“Yes, for my birthday! I want to turn eighteen with you guys,” Erica piped in.

“Alright, so that’s what, second week of July?”

“Yep, my birthday’s on the ninth. We could leave around the fifth, get there on the evening of the seventh, have a few days for camping.”

“Sounds good,” Isaac nodded, resting his head against the edge of the bed. Erica reached her hand out, her fingers combing through his curls.

“Great idea, pumpkin.”

Isaac scrunched up his nose.

“Told you not to call me that.”

“Sorry, it’s stuck, pretty boy.”

Erica caught Derek and Stiles share a look. She frowned at them, Stiles throwing her a grin when he saw her watching.

“So, music! Who’s in charge of music?”

“I am,” Erica decided quickly. There was no way she was letting Derek pick out the music, they’d be stuck listening to R’n’B all the way there. They needed variety.

Stiles scribbled something down and nodded, biting the pen. Erica glanced at Derek, smirking at the look he was throwing Stiles’ way. Maybe they should postpone the planning or Erica and Isaac would see something they weren’t meant to. Not that she would complain, Derek still didn’t give into giving her more details for her stories, the bastard.

“Right, that’s done. Uh, we can get the food together. Derek, can you and Isaac take care of tents?”

“Sure,” Isaac agreed.

“Okay, okay. I’ll research the camping grounds tonight, see if we have to book them or pay anything or whatever. I’ll bring all the information to school tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Erica nodded.

She got up from the bed, tugged Isaac up.

“We’re going now. Derek, we’re taking the Camaro.”

Stiles looked up at her, confused.

“Where are you guys going?”

“Somewhere we won’t have to see you two having sex if the look Derek’s giving you is anything to go by.”

Stiles turned his head quickly to look at Derek and blushed again. Erica grinned, looping her arm through Isaac’s.

“You boys have fun! Isaac, how do you feel about froyo?”

*

Derek nodded at the deputy behind the reception desk.

“Is the Sheriff in?”

The deputy gave him a once over, nodding. 

“What’s this about?”

“I was wondering if I could speak to him? It’s personal.”

He got waved through, the deputy giving him the directions to the Sheriff’s office. Derek walked up to the door with a bit of trepidation, raising his hand and knocking sharply three times.

“Come in.”

He pushed the door open, walked in and closed the door behind him.

“Hello, sir.”

The Sheriff took off his glasses and put them on the table. He stood up, walks around the desk and reached his hand out to shake Derek’s.

“Derek, is everything alright?”

“Yes, sir. I was hoping you could give me some advice.”

The Sheriff’s eyebrows raised on his forehead. He gestured towards one of the chairs and sat back behind his desk. Derek took a seat and cleared his throat.

“What is it, son?”

“I received the inheritance a few weeks ago,” he started and the Sheriff nodded at him to go on. “I’ve been thinking of buying property, somewhere I could live. I’m going to move out of my foster parents’ after I graduate and I was hoping you could give me some advice on the real estate.”

The Sheriff whistled at that, leaning back in his chair, clicking his tongue.

“Not what I was expecting. You’re not going to college?”

Derek shook his head.

“School’s not really for me. I’ve got an apprenticeship lined up with Ben Johnson—"

“Carpentry, that’s a good trade.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Sheriff scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Well, you’ve still got land and the old house, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to rebuild?”

Derek clenched his hands around the armrests and shook his head.

“No, I don’t think I could live in that house knowing my family died there.”

“How about building a new house on the land? You’ve got plenty of that from what I remember.”

Derek tilts his head considering. That was a good option but it would mean he’d have to rent an apartment in the mean time until the construction was over.

“That’s an option but it would mean I’d have to find a place for the duration of the construction. Plus, I’ve no idea how to go on about finding an architect, hiring a construction crew and all that.”

“I could help you with that. Buying is another option, sure. Are you looking for a house or an apartment? There are new apartments on Main Street, you could have a look at that.”

“I think I’d rather look for a house. Better investment for the future.”

The Sheriff looked at him shrewdly, scratching at his chin, the rasping sound of his stubble filling the room. 

“You think of future a lot, son?”

“Seems like the thing to do, sir.”

“And what’s this future of yours include?”

Derek took in a deep breath. He knew there was another reason why he spoke to the Sheriff about this here, at the station and not at the house, where Stiles would be present. It was a conversation they were long overdue by this point.

“Stiles, sir. My future includes Stiles, definitely. A stable job, a house — a home.”

The Sheriff closed his eyes at that, and Derek let silence fall between them.

“It’s not every day a man hears his son’s boyfriend make such serious plans. You’re still young, Derek, are you sure you want to tie yourself to Stiles like this?”

Derek furrows his brows, hunching his shoulders.

“I’m not going to ask him to move in with me until he finishes college, sir. By then it would be only natural, I think.”

“Does he know that?”

“We haven’t talked about it yet. Soon, though, when he starts applying about colleges . For now I want him to enjoy what he has left of high school. And — if we don’t work out,” he swallowed around those words, “then well, you won’t have anything to worry about.”

The Sheriff sends him a serious look before scowling at him.

“Aw, crap. Kid, I wish I could hate you but you actually make sense. Jesus. Fine, I’m okay with that. Now, you said a house, I can look around the market, see what’s going on. And I’ll get a quote for an architect and construction for a new house on the Hale land and we can go on from there, sounds good?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

“You better call me John, son. I’ll be seeing plenty of you if your plans are anything to go by.”

Derek smiled at that, small and slow, gratified by the responding smile on the Sheriff’s lips.

“If you decide to build a new house, you could always do the carpentry yourself, save up some money that way,” the Sheriff said, taking out a blank page and starting to jot down notes.

*

It was May already, and a heat wave had rolled through Northern California. Erica sighed, fanning herself with her notebook as she sat at the bleachers, watching Isaac and Stiles play a one-on-one impromptu lacrosse game. Derek sat beside her, a short sleeved t-shirt stretching across his chest, his glasses perched on his nose.

“I’m bored,” she whined at him.

“Not my problem.”

“Yes it is! You should entertain me, it’s in your job description as my best friend.”

Derek looked at her over the rim of his sunglasses, his eyebrow raised.

“The only person I entertain is Stiles,” he drawled.

Erica rolled her eyes, swatting him with her notebook. 

“Not like that, ew. Talk to me, Derrrrek.”

“Why won’t you ask Isaac out?”

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she scowled at him. That had not been what she’d expected.

“I — you — whatever, be that way, we can sit in silence.”

Derek nudged her with his shoulder.

“No, seriously, you should do it.”

“I’m the girl.”

“You’re buying into gender roles _now_?”

She huffed out a breath, sending a strand of her hair flying away from her face. It fell back on her cheek, tickling her until she pulled it away with a jerky motion of her hand. She’d been thinking about telling Isaac how she felt for a while now. She’d gotten over Boyd once she’d realised that he had been right, she hadn’t been in love with him — she was in love with Isaac. In the middle of April, she had sought Boyd out after school and apologized to him, wishing him luck in New York in case she didn’t see him before he left. He smiled at her then, that smile that she had adored, and it had hit her that his smile had never made her feel like the world was a brighter place, not the way she always felt after Isaac smiled at her.

She leaned back, resting her arms on the seats behind her and turned her face towards the sun, her eyes closed.

“I don’t know. I should but I’m — I’m afraid, I guess. What if he says no? What if he says _yes_?”

“You won’t know until you try.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do it.”

“Okay. I’ll leave with Stiles, you two can take the Camaro.”

Erica turned to look at Derek, baring her teeth in a wide, shit eating grin.

“I love how you give us the Camaro just like that.”

“That’s because I know where you live so I can kill you if anything happens to it.”

She laughs at that, turning her face back toward the sun. She could hear Stiles and Isaac shout to one another and her stomach twisted into a knot, a buzz of anticipation warming her blood.

After a few more minutes Stiles and Isaac made their way towards them, dropping on the seats heavily. She opened her eyes to look at them, sweat pouring down their necks, soaking their tees. She wrinkled her nose.

“You guys stink.”

“Smell it, Reyes, it’s the scent of champions,” Stiles teased, rubbing his head on her jean clad thigh. 

She squealed, jerking away from him with an exaggerated shudder. Isaac chuckled at that, grabbing the hem of his shirt and wiping his face with it. Erica certainly didn’t let her eyes skim the exposed skin of his stomach.

Derek snorted besides her and she turned to scowl at him. He raised his hands in surrender, an innocent expression on his face.

“Wanna watch a movie, Stiles?”

Stiles squinted at Derek for a moment.

“Do you mean watch a movie or _watch a movie_?”

“Either. Both,” Derek grinned at him.

“Sure,” Stiles got up, offering his hand to pull Derek up.

Derek got up, his body crowding Stiles in and Erica rolled her eyes. They were ridiculous.

“Here,” Derek said, throwing his keys at Isaac. “Drive Erica home, won’t you?”

“You’re only having me drive her home because you want to have Stiles pull over so you guys can make out at the side of the road, right?”

“Yep,” Stiles said brightly, hooking his fingers through Derek’s belt loops.

“I hate you,” Isaac groaned, getting up.

“You say that like giving me a ride is a chore, pretty boy,” Erica pouted at him.

Isaac rolled his eyes, helping her stand up before grabbing his lacrosse gear.

“Not at all, I get to drive the Camaro. That’s a pretty sweet deal.”

“What happened to being my chauffeur as long as I needed it, huh? Was it just sweet words, Isaac? Has the magic already gone from our relationship?” She asked dramatically, putting her hand on her heart.

“Yeah, you got me, I only said that to get into Camaro.”

“You bastard,” she smacked his arm with a grin.

“You guys are ridiculous,” Stiles piped in.

“Look who’s talking,” she snarked back.

Derek rolled his eyes, throwing his arm around Stiles’ shoulder.

“The longer you banter with Erica, the less time we have for making out.”

Stiles waved at them, dragging Derek away towards the Jeep.

“Bye, can’t talk, see ya tomorrow!”

Erica chuckled and shook her head as she and Isaac made their way towards the Camaro.

“Hey,” she started, biting her lip. “Wanna go to the Point? Hang out a bit?”

“Sure, we can stop for some sodas on the way there.”

They stopped at a gas station, stocking up on snacks and drinks before driving up to the Point. Isaac parked in the same spot they had parked on on Valentine’s Day and they opened the doors, letting the breeze flow through the car. Erica pushed her seat, reclining it a bit and sighing. Isaac did the same, taking a deep gulp of his Coke. The radio filled the silence, the song a slow, indie one that made Erica want to close her eyes and drift off.

She could feel the anticipation pool in her stomach, charging the air between her and Isaac. She wondered if he could feel it. She risked a glance at him from the side of her eye and looked away quickly when she caught him looking at her. She looked back, biting her lip only to see that Isaac looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks.

“I like you.”

“I like you too,” he replied.

“No,” she shook her head. “I mean I like you. No, that’s not right, I’m in love with you.”

The can in Isaac’s hand squeaked as he gripped it tightly. He turned to look at her, his eyes searching for something. She let out the breath she was holding and looked back at him, hoping he would read her like a book.

“What about Boyd?”

She shrugged, not looking away even though she really wanted to.

“He was right, he was my second choice. I didn’t realise it back then but he was right.”

“What do you mean?”

She traced her finger around the rim of the can, tearing her gaze away from Isaac. She watched her fingers as they traced patterns on the aluminium.

“I was so caught up in the person I thought I should be that I didn’t stop to think or feel. I didn’t see what was in front of me. I didn’t see you and I chased after Boyd because I thought it was something I was supposed to do. I was supposed to be this underdog girl who transformed from a caterpillar into a butterfly and started going out with an older guy. I forgot my life wasn’t a teen movie, you know. My problems, the person I am, didn’t go away after my makeover . I - I wasn’t being fair to you or Boyd.”

“You weren’t being fair to yourself, either,” Isaac pointed out quietly.

She nodded and licked her lips. She glanced up at him, swallowing loudly. He hadn’t said anything back one way or another and she wasn’t sure what to do. Should she continue? Should she apologise?

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “But it’s something I’m going to have to live with. I learned from it.”

“Yeah, you did.”

She blinked rapidly, staring out of the window. She took in a deep breath, trying not to let Isaac’s lack of response crush her. Maybe she had read him wrong. Maybe she had been deluding herself all those past months when she had analyzed their interactions, the way he smiled at her, let her get away with the pet names, knew when to call her out on her shit and when to give her a hug when she was down.

She heard Isaac put the can in the cup-holder with a quiet thump. Not even a second later his hand was on her chin, making her face him. She blinked away her tears, sure that her eyes were bright with them.

“Hey, look at me,” he said softly.

She looked up at him and her breath caught at the soft smile he gave her. His hand moved to cup her cheek, his thumb stroking the skin in a soothing motion.

“I’ve been waiting on you to figure stuff out,” he murmured, closing the distance between them. “I’m in love with you, too.”

His lips were soft and gentle on hers, both of his hands moving to cradle her face. Erica closed her eyes, sighing into the kiss, opening her lips against his, deepening the kiss. She felt his tongue flicker against her lips and grabbed at his t-shirt, squeaking when the drink she had previously held in her hands spilled all over her lap, fizzling loudly.

Isaac pulled away, confused and started laughing once he realised what was happening. She scowled at him for a second before joining his laughter, covering her mouth as she started snorting. Isaac grabbed a t-shirt from his gym bag and passed it to her. She mopped at the spilled drink, wrinkling her nose as she felt the stickiness of her jeans. Isaac grabbed the can from her lap and threw it in the back.

“Derek’s going to kill us .”

“Nah,” she grinned back at him. “He’s going to be too happy he won’t have to hear me mope about you anymore that he won’t even notice.”

Isaac grinned, wide and bright and moved in for another kiss. Erica let the shirt drop in her lap as her hands moved to his hair, brushing through it. She smiled against his lips, pressing a few close mouthed kisses against his mouth and chin before pulling away.

“Um, could we go to my place? I really need to change.”

“Sure,” Isaac replied with an easy grin.

“My bed is comfortable, you know,” she winked at him.

“Oh, believe me, I remember that very well,” Isaac said, closing the door and clicking his seatbelt on. “I’ve been thinking about it for the past few months.”

“Well, you don’t have to do that anymore, you’re welcome to use it any time you want.”

“Generous of you.”

“But I require payment.”

“Oh? And what’s the payment?”

Erica sized him up, her lips curling into a teasing smile.

“Well, you can pay me with kisses.”

“That can be arranged,” Isaac winks at her, reaching for her hand.

Their fingers tangled together easily as Erica leaned against her seat, her head turned so that she could watch Isaac as he drove, a smile never leaving her lips.

*

Derek pulled into the school’s parking lot, the Camaro idling as he waited for school to let out. Stiles’ Jeep was in the repair shop so he’d promised Stiles that he would pick him up after school. He rolled his shoulders, grimacing at the ache in his muscles from working bent over wood all day. Then he smirked, knowing Stiles would make a really lame joke about that.

The school let out, and Derek’s eyes were drawn to the door. He noticed Whittemore exiting the school, his arm looped around Lydia Martin’s waist, both of them smiling, her hand moving to cover his on her hip. It still rattled him that Stiles had had a crush on her, though obviously he wasn’t going to do anything about it.

But some days, Derek couldn’t help but wonder if Stiles wasn’t better off with Lydia. Usually when Stiles noticed Derek was in one of his mood, he would babble about everything and anything as he draped himself over Derek like a living blanket, not giving an inch until Derek relaxed, moving his arms to circle Stiles’ back. His boyfriend knew him well.

He saw Stiles walk out of the door backwards, turned around to talk to Erica and Isaac, who were holding hands. Derek had called it from day one but it seemed that Erica had needed more time to process what she’d been feeling. She had been pretty bad after her break up with Boyd but Isaac, Derek and Stiles had been there to help her get back on her own two legs again. Stiles hadcalled Derek out on pushing Erica and Isaac together but he’d joined in, coming up with ridiculous excuses to leave them alone.

Stiles tripped, his arms whirling comically as he tried to regain his balance. Isaac’s hand shot out, grabbing the lapel of Stiles’ leather jacket, steadying him. Erica was laughing at Stiles, poking him in the side before nodding her head toward where Derek was waiting in the car.

Stiles whipped around, smiling wide and happy at the sight of Camaro. He waved at Erica and Isaac over his shoulder, jogging towards the car. He opened the door, threw his bag in the back and slunk into the seat. Before he even closed the door he was leaning in to kiss Derek, who smiled lightly against his lips.

Stiles closed the door, put on his seat belt and turned to Derek.

“Hey stranger.”

“Hey yourself,” Derek put the car in reverse. “How was school?”

“Boring now that you’re not there to make out during lunch.”

Derek shook his head with a chuckle. 

“Hey, dad’s off to some conference in San Diego for the weekend, wanna come over? We could start celebrating my eighteenth early,” Stiles wiggled his eyebrows.

“Alright, sounds like a plan. Should I bring anything?”

Stiles fist pumped, shaking his head.

“Lube and condoms. Better have more than none at all.”

“Stiles, you could open a pharmacy with the amount of condoms you have stashed in your room.”

Stiles scoffed.

“I’m being responsible, Derek. What if the apocalypse comes and we’re overrun by zombies and we want to have sex? I’m  
preparing for the future. You’ll thank me for that one day.”

Derek rolled his eyes, his hand moving to rest on Stiles’ thigh, calming down the excited jitters of his leg.

“If that happened, we’d just go raw. It’s not as if I’m planning on being with anyone else but you.”

Silence met his statement and Derek turned to look at Stiles, worried. Stiles looked at him as if he had hung the moon, his mouth open, his eyes wide.

“You mean that?”

Derek cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

“Well, yeah. You’re it for me,” he said with a shrug.

Stiles’ hand came to cover his, their fingers slotting together without conscious thought. The look Stiles was giving him promised a lot of pleasure in Derek’s future.

“Oh my god, Derek, fuck. Jesus, why are you driving so slowly, speed up, I need you to fuck me right now, you stupid bastard, you can’t say things like that when I can’t jump you, Jesus!”

Derek smiled, wide and dangerous and put his foot more firmly on the gas pedal.


End file.
